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Endogenous indoles and the biosynthesis and metabolism of indole-3-acetic acid in cultures of Rhizobium phaseoli

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Abstract

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analyses of purified extracts from cultures of Rhizobium phaseoli wild-type strain 8002, grown in a non-tryptophan-supplemented liquid medium, demonstrated the presence of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-ethanol (IEt), indole-3-aldehyde and indole-3-methanol (IM). In metabolism studies with 3H-, 14C- and 2H-labelled substrates the bacterium was shown to convert tryptophan to IEt, IAA and IM; IEt to IAA and IM; and IAA to IM. Indole-3-acetamide (IAAm) could not be detected as either an endogenous constituent or a metabolite of [3H]tryptophan nor did cultures convert [14C]IAAm to IAA. Biosynthesis of IAA in R. phaseoli, thus, involves a different pathway from that operating in Pseudomonas savastanio and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-induced crown-gall tumours.

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Abbreviations

IAA:

indole-3-acetic acid

IAld:

indole-3-aldehyde

IAAm:

indole-3-acetamide

IEt:

indole-3-ethanol

IM:

indole-3-methanol

HPLC-RC:

high-performance liquid chromatography-radio counting

GC-MS:

gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

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Ernstsen, A., Sandberg, G., Crozier, A. et al. Endogenous indoles and the biosynthesis and metabolism of indole-3-acetic acid in cultures of Rhizobium phaseoli . Planta 171, 422–428 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398689

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398689

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