Chemical hijacking of auxin signaling with an engineered auxin-TIR1 pair

Nat Chem Biol. 2018 Mar;14(3):299-305. doi: 10.1038/nchembio.2555. Epub 2018 Jan 22.

Abstract

The phytohormone auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) regulates nearly all aspects of plant growth and development. Despite substantial progress in our understanding of auxin biology, delineating specific auxin response remains a major challenge. Auxin regulates transcriptional response via its receptors, TIR1 and AFB F-box proteins. Here we report an engineered, orthogonal auxin-TIR1 receptor pair, developed through a bump-and-hole strategy, that triggers auxin signaling without interfering with endogenous auxin or TIR1/AFBs. A synthetic, convex IAA (cvxIAA) hijacked the downstream auxin signaling in vivo both at the transcriptomic level and in specific developmental contexts, only in the presence of a complementary, concave TIR1 (ccvTIR1) receptor. Harnessing the cvxIAA-ccvTIR1 system, we provide conclusive evidence for the role of the TIR1-mediated pathway in auxin-induced seedling acid growth. The cvxIAA-ccvTIR1 system serves as a powerful tool for solving outstanding questions in auxin biology and for precise manipulation of auxin-mediated processes as a controllable switch.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / chemistry
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry*
  • Crosses, Genetic
  • F-Box Proteins / chemistry*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Indoleacetic Acids / chemistry*
  • Kinetics
  • Mutation
  • Plant Growth Regulators
  • Plant Roots
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Engineering
  • Receptors, Cell Surface / chemistry*
  • Seedlings
  • Signal Transduction
  • Transgenes

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • F-Box Proteins
  • Indoleacetic Acids
  • Plant Growth Regulators
  • Receptors, Cell Surface
  • TIR1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • indoleacetic acid

Associated data

  • PubChem-Substance/350080236
  • PubChem-Substance/350080246
  • PubChem-Substance/350080247
  • PubChem-Substance/350080248
  • PubChem-Substance/350080249
  • PubChem-Substance/350080250
  • PubChem-Substance/350080251
  • PubChem-Substance/350080252
  • PubChem-Substance/350080253
  • PubChem-Substance/350080237
  • PubChem-Substance/350080238
  • PubChem-Substance/350080239
  • PubChem-Substance/350080240
  • PubChem-Substance/350080241
  • PubChem-Substance/350080242
  • PubChem-Substance/350080243
  • PubChem-Substance/350080244
  • PubChem-Substance/350080245