Microorganisms (Aug 2023)

Biosynthetic Pathways and Functions of Indole-3-Acetic Acid in Microorganisms

  • Jintian Tang,
  • Yukang Li,
  • Leilei Zhang,
  • Jintao Mu,
  • Yangyang Jiang,
  • Huilan Fu,
  • Yafen Zhang,
  • Haifeng Cui,
  • Xiaoping Yu,
  • Zihong Ye

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11082077
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 8
p. 2077

Abstract

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Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) belongs to the family of auxin indole derivatives. IAA regulates almost all aspects of plant growth and development, and is one of the most important plant hormones. In microorganisms too, IAA plays an important role in growth, development, and even plant interaction. Therefore, mechanism studies on the biosynthesis and functions of IAA in microorganisms can promote the production and utilization of IAA in agriculture. This mini-review mainly summarizes the biosynthesis pathways that have been reported in microorganisms, including the indole-3-acetamide pathway, indole-3-pyruvate pathway, tryptamine pathway, indole-3-acetonitrile pathway, tryptophan side chain oxidase pathway, and non-tryptophan dependent pathway. Some pathways interact with each other through common key genes to constitute a network of IAA biosynthesis. In addition, functional studies of IAA in microorganisms, divided into three categories, have also been summarized: the effects on microorganisms, the virulence on plants, and the beneficial impacts on plants.

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