Gibberellins and auxins are the only hormones known that promote growth in oat (Arena sativa) stem segments, but when applied together, indoleacetic acid inhibits gibberellic acid-induced growth appreciably. This study shows that in addition to this inhibitory role, indoleacetic acid shortens the response time of the tissue to gibberellic acid.Stem segments taken from the next-to-last internode of oats (Avena) are particularly responsive to gibberellins. Under optimal conditions, 1-cm segments treated with GA3 grow 7.5 cm in 3 d, a value 21 times that of control growth (1). This response may be due exclusively to GA3 since IAA (1 1, 14, 16), kinetin (9), ABA (13), and ethylene (Adams, unpublished data) partially inhibit the GA3-promoted growth. IAA, however, is distinctive among these GA3 antagonists in that it alone promotes growth in the absence of GA3. Growth promotion by IAA is reported to be from 40% to 67% (11, 14, 16).Because of this special role of IAA and GA3 in oat stem segments, we made a more detailed study of their effect on stem elongation. Growth was measured in part by a linear transducer attached to a single segment, which resulted in a precise, continuous record of the early growth kinetics. Our results show that, in addition to inhibiting the rate of GA3-induced growth, IAA modified GA3-induced growth by shortening the response time to GA3. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant Material. Oats (Avena sativa cv Victory) were grown in a Sherer-Gillett environmental chamber in moderately high light (50 w/m2), LD (16 h light, 8 h dark), and cool temperatures (22°C day, 16°C night). The plants were grown hydroponically in trays of vermiculite and 50% Hoagland solution. The shoots were harvested when the next-to-last internode was 1 to 3 cm long, which was about 6 to 7 weeks after planting. Segments were taken from these shoots and their growth analyzed in the following two procedures.General Growth Analysis. One-cm internodal segments with their subtending nodes were excised from oat shoots. The bottom 1 cm was cut from styrofoam cups, and holes were made in their bases to support the segments firmly by their nodes. The cup bases with the segments were then floated in Petri dishes containing 0.1 M sucrose, which is needed in long-term studies to prevent substrate limitation of growth (1). Hormone solutions were added to the interior of the internodes, which are hollow down to the nodes and thereby can serve as miniature receptacles. This anatomical feature permits the treatment solutions to be in direct contact with the growing, noncutinized cells and also permits easy exchange of solutions.Ten to fifteen segments were assembled for each treatment, and stem elongation was measured with a ruler to 0.1 mm as frequently as every 0.5 h. Solutions were added to and removed from the lacunae with a syringe or dropper to which was attached a length of polyethylene tubing (0.7 mm outside diameter). The segments were brought to osmotic equilibrium with several injections of water before the hormone solutions we...