Biologists learn how plants synthesize their growth hormone auxin
Date: 26.10.2011
Biologists at the University of California (UC), San Diego have succeeded in unraveling, for the first time, the complete chain of biochemical reactions that controls the synthesis of auxin, the hormone that regulates nearly all aspects of plant growth and development.
"The main reason that auxin biosynthesis mechanisms had evaded scientists is that each step in auxin biosynthesis involves many genes, making the genetic dissection of auxin biosynthesis very complicated," said Zhao. "Now that we've identified the main auxin biosynthesis pathway in plants, we will be able to regulate auxin levels in crops and other plants with temporal and spatial precision, providing useful tools for agricultural biotechnology."
