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Auxin triggers a genetic switch

Nature Cell Biology volume 13, pages 611–615 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cell specification in development requires robust gene-regulatory responses to transient signals. In plants, the small signalling molecule auxin has been implicated in diverse developmental processes1,2. Auxin promotes the degradation of AUXIN/INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID (AUX/IAA) inhibitors that prevent AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF) transcription factors from regulating their target genes1,3. However, the precise role of auxin in patterning has remained unclear, the view of auxin acting as a morphogen is controversial4,5 and the transcriptional control of the ARF genes themselves is barely explored6. Here, we demonstrate by experimental and computational analyses that the Arabidopsis ARF protein MONOPTEROS (MP) controls its own expression and the expression of its AUX/IAA inhibitor BODENLOS (BDL), with auxin acting as a threshold-specific trigger by promoting the degradation of the inhibitor. Our results suggest a general mechanism for how the transient accumulation of auxin activates self-sustaining or hysteretic feedback systems of interacting auxin-response proteins that, similarly to other genetic switches, result in unequivocal developmental responses.

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Figure 1: Regulation of BDL and MP expression by auxin (1-naphthylacetic acid, NAA), MP and BDL.
Figure 2: Auxin-regulated MP expression in planta.
Figure 3: MP–BDL regulatory circuitry.
Figure 4: Gene activation by MP.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Brancato for protoplast transfections, R. Kancheva and E. Özdemir for help with plant work, M. Kientz for help with RNA in situ hybridizations, and D. Weijers and M. Bayer for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Max Planck Society, a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to G.J. (SFB 446) and long-term postdoctoral fellowships to I.D.S. from the European Molecular Biology Organization (ALTF 108-2006) and the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship Scheme (FP6 MEIF-CT-2007–041375).

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  1. Ive De Smet

    Present address: Present address: Division of Plant and Crop Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Spemannstraße 35, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

    Steffen Lau, Ive De Smet, Martina Kolb & Gerd Jürgens

  2. Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 3, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

    Ive De Smet & Gerd Jürgens

  3. Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Spemannstraße 35, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

    Hans Meinhardt

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Contributions

S.L. and G.J. designed the project, S.L., I.D.S., H.M. and M.K. carried out the research, and S.L., I.D.S., H.M. and G.J. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gerd Jürgens.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Lau, S., Smet, I., Kolb, M. et al. Auxin triggers a genetic switch. Nat Cell Biol 13, 611–615 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb2212

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