A bioassay for brassinosteroid activity based on the in vitro fluorimetric detection of nitric oxide production

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that low concentrations of brassinolide induce a rapid generation of nitric oxide in mesophyll cells of maize leaves, which can be easily detected by fluorimetric methods. In this work we describe a series of natural and synthetic brassinosteroids that are able to trigger in vitro NO production in tomato cells that exhibits dose–response behavior. We propose that this effect can be used to develop a new rapid and very sensitive bioassay for brassinosteroid activity that offers several advantages when compared to the current methodologies.