All the cells in a particular plant start out with the same complement of genes. How then can these cells differentiate and form structures as different as roots, stems, leaves, and fruits? The answer is that only a small subset of the genes in a particular kind of cell are expressed, or turned on, at a given time. This is accomplished by a complex system of chemical messengers that in plants include hormones and other regulatory molecules. Five major hormones have been identified: auxin, abscisic acid, cytokinin, ethylene, and gibberellin. Studies of plants have now identified a new class of regulatory molecules called oligosaccharins.
Unlike the oligosaccharins, the five well-known plant hormones are pleiotropic rather than specific ; that is, each has more than one effect on the growth and development of plants. The five have so many simultaneous effects that they are not very useful in artificially controlling the growth of crops. Auxin, for instance, stimulates the rate of cell elongation, causes shoots to grow up and roots to grow down, and inhibits the growth of lateral shoots. Auxin also causes the plant to develop a vascular system, to form lateral roots, and to produce ethylene.
The pleiotropy of the five well-studied plant hormones is somewhat analogous to that of certain hormones in animals. For example, hormones from the hypothalamus in the brain stimulate the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland to synthesize and release many different hormones, one of which stimulates the release of hormones from the adrenal cortex. These hormones have specific effects on target organs all over the body. One hormone stimulates the thyroid gland, for example, another the ovarian follicle cells, and so forth. In other words, there is a hierarchy of hormones.
Such a hierarchy may also exist in plants. Oligosaccharins are fragments of the cell wall released by enzymes: different enzymes release different oligosaccharins. There are indications that pleiotropic plant hormones may actually function by activating the enzymes that release these other, more specific chemical messengers from the cell wall.
The author mentions specific effects that auxin has on plant development in order to illustrate the
我有更好的解析 
暂无雷哥网文字解析
关键词specific effects that auxin
定位到第2段 这一段就是在说5H的多效性。Auxin就是5H里面的其中一个，列举了Auxin可以做哪些哪些事情是 Auxin多效性的解释
选项A some of the effects of plant hormones can be harmful.文章未提及
选项B 植物如何产生荷尔蒙，与回文内容不符
选项C hierarchical未提及
选项D differences among the best-known plant hormones.未提及
选项E 正确
pleiotropy 多效性
0
0
回复
2020-11-01 01:47:53
科目：
阅读RC
来源：
精选题库
1m52s
平均耗时
70.9%
平均正确率
该题由网友3ahPhNHe提供 上传GMAT题
分享
周末、晚班滚动开班 
24+35+35+6课时 
