Chemical messengers that are produced in one part of an organism are hormones. Plant hormones differ from animal hormones because they don't maintain homeostasis and there are no endocrine organs that produce hormones. When plants respond to stimuli it's controlled by hormones. There are five major hormones: Auxin, Gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid, and ethylene. Auxin affects meristematic growth, cell elongation in shoots, cell division, growth of lateral buds, production of xylem, development of fruits, and …showed first 75 words of 421 total…

…showed last 75 words of 421 total…and acids to sugar in fruit or soften fruit by breaking down the cell wall. If too much ethylene is produced, the fruit will ripen and go bad. Ethylene can be used in overseas shipment of fruit. After the fruit is shipped it can be applied to ripen them. Ethylene can also help plants make enzymes. An example of this would be chitinase, which defends plants against fungi by breaking down chiten in fungal walls.