Engineering auxin degradation into root-associated bacteria promotes plant growth.

ABSTRACT: Overproduction of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) by rhizosphere bacteria disrupts auxin homeostasis and induces root growth inhibition (RGI) in plants. Bacteria from the genus Variovorax mitigate this effect by degrading IAA, and in our prior work we identified the iad locus as being required for this activity. Here, we refine our understanding of the iad pathway using bacterial genetics, metabolomics, and isotope tracing to assign roles to individual Iad pathway enzymes and show that IadDE, though resembling a Rieske dioxygenase, functions instead as a monooxygenase that initiates catabolism via a novel intermediate. Guided by these insights, we installed chromosomal iad cassettes into root-associated commensals (Polaromonas MF047 and Paraburkholderia

SUBMITTER: Jiang T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633357 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature