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Articles

An Increase in Mechanical Extensibility during the Period of Light-stimulated Growth ¹

^a Department of Aeròpace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80302

The sporangiophore of Phycomyces responds to a temporary increase in light intensity with a transient increase in growth rate that begins 2 to 3 minutes after the initiation of the stimulus and continues until approximately the 12th minute. Tensile tests conducted on the stage IVb sporangiophore demonstrate that an increase in mechanical extensibility of the cell wall occurs 2 minutes after the initiation of a light stimulus and continues until approximately the 15th minute. This finding supports the theory that light-stimulated plant cell expansion and rate of expansion is a function of the mechanical extensibility of the cell wall.