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Submitted to: Journal of Plant Growth Regulation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 2/25/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: The plant hormone, auxin, is responsible for many aspects of plant growth and response to the environment. One way a plant controls how much auxin is present is by binding it up to form an inactive hormone conjugate. This conjugate can then be used to release active hormone when needed. Very little is known about these chemical processes in plants because they cannot be studied in the usual ways. A novel strategy for obtaining plant with defects in these chemical processes has been developed in order to isolate genes involved in these processes. These results will be useful to plant physiologists, plant breeders, and molecular biologists interested in improving plant responses to the environment. Technical Abstract: Two strategies for selection of plant mutants altered in their ability to hydrolyze IAA conjugates are described. The rationale for both strategies is to form a conjugate between two chemical moieties in which one moiety is a toxin. The first strategy makes use of a toxic auxin analogue. For this approach a series of halogenated IAA analogues were tested for toxic properties to Lemna gibba and Zea mays. Several halogenated analogues wer toxic, but only 5-Br-IAA was highly toxic to both species. The second strategy required a toxic compound with suitable functional groups such that IAA could be conjugated to it. The mycotoxin, patulin, was found to be a suitable candidate. Uptake and hydrolysis of IAA-conjugates was studied in order to better define the conditions required for conjugate analogues to be effectively employed for selections. |
