Redefining the roles of UDP-glycosyltransferases in auxin metabolism and homeostasis during plant development

Abstract

The levels of the important plant growth regulator indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are tightly controlled within plant tissues to spatiotemporally orchestrate concentration gradients that drive plant growth and development. Metabolic inactivation of bioactive IAA is known to participate in the modulation of IAA maxima and minima. IAA can be irreversibly inactivated by oxidation and conjugation to Aspartate and Glutamate. Usually overlooked because its reversible nature, the most abundant inactive IAA form is the IAA-glucose (IAA-glc) conjugate. Glycosylation of IAA is reported to be carried out by the UDP-glycosyltransferase 84B1 (UGT84B1), while UGT74D1 has been implicated in the glycosylation of the irreversibly formed IAA catabolite oxIAA. Here we demonstrate that both UGT84B1 and UGT74D1 modulate IAA levels throughout plant development by dual IAA and oxIAA glycosylation. Moreover, we identify a novel UGT subfamily whose members modulate IAA homeostasis during skotomorphogenesis by redundantly mediating the glycosylation of oxIAA.