A gain-of-function mutation in IAA16 confers reduced responses to auxin and abscisic acid and impedes plant growth and fertility

Plant Mol Biol. 2012 Jul;79(4-5):359-73. doi: 10.1007/s11103-012-9917-y. Epub 2012 May 12.

Abstract

Auxin regulates many aspects of plant development, in part, through degradation of the Aux/IAA family of transcriptional repressors. Consequently, stabilizing mutations in several Aux/IAA proteins confer reduced auxin responsiveness. However, of the 29 apparent Aux/IAA proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana, fewer than half have roles established through mutant analysis. We identified iaa16-1, a dominant gain-of-function mutation in IAA16 (At3g04730), in a novel screen for reduced root responsiveness to abscisic acid. The iaa16-1 mutation also confers dramatically reduced auxin responses in a variety of assays, markedly restricts growth of adult plants, and abolishes fertility when homozygous. We compared iaa16-1 phenotypes with those of dominant mutants defective in the closely related IAA7/AXR2, IAA14/SLR, and IAA17/AXR3, along with the more distantly related IAA28, and found overlapping but distinct patterns of developmental defects. The identification and characterization of iaa16-1 provides a fuller understanding of the IAA7/IAA14/IAA16/IAA17 clade of Aux/IAA proteins and the diverse roles of these repressors in hormone response and plant development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Abscisic Acid / pharmacology
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / drug effects
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis / growth & development
  • Arabidopsis / physiology
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / physiology
  • Base Sequence
  • DNA, Plant / genetics
  • Fertility / drug effects
  • Fertility / genetics
  • Genes, Plant*
  • Indoleacetic Acids / pharmacology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family
  • Mutation
  • Phenotype
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Growth Regulators / pharmacology
  • Plant Roots / drug effects
  • Plant Roots / growth & development
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • DNA, Plant
  • Indoleacetic Acids
  • Plant Growth Regulators
  • Abscisic Acid