Plant Cell Wall Fragments Inhibit Flowering and Promote Vegetative Growth in Lemna gibba G3*

Cell wall fragments prepared by partial acid hydrolysis of isolated plant cell walls inhibit flowering 60–100% in Lemna gibba G3 grown in continuous light. The same cell wall fragments promote the rate of vegetative growth such that the number of Lemna gibba G3 fronds in cultures grown in the presence of 100 ug/ml of wall fragments is 130–300% of the number of fronds in cultures grown in the absence of cell wall fragments. These observations add to the increasing evidence that plant cell wall fragments participate in the control of growth and development in plants.