Annals of Botany 92: 471-472, 2003
© 2003 Annals of Botany Company
Perrot-Rechenmann, C. and Hagen, G. Auxin molecular biology
Auxin molecular biology.
Perrot-Rechenmann C, Hagen G. 2002.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
£37·00/Euro 59·00/US$54·00 (hardback). 184 pp.
Auxin molecular biology is a wide and dynamic area of research. Like each of the classic plant hormones, progress in understanding how auxin works has been slow compared with equivalent animal hormonal signalling networks. The editors of this volume claim that the auxin field is currently experiencing a revolution and have captured advances in 12 key areas using reviews from leaders in each topic. The articles represent accounts from most of the world’s leading laboratories in the field of auxin signalling, many combining authors from a number of complementary labs.
The volume arose out of the EMBO workshop ‘Auxin 2000’, although the reviews have been completed since the meeting and represent the state of the art in 2001. The collection also appeared as a special issue of Plant Molecular Biology in 2002.
The collection starts with a tour-de-force on the biosynthesis, conjugation, catabolism and homeostasis of IAA in arabidopsis by Karin Ljung and colleagues. It captures the combined knowledge and insight of four laboratories, some of which have been contributing to the development of the field of auxin measurement and homeostasis for decades, others that have contributed significant advances more recently. The article is well organized, well illustrated and thorough.
Polar auxin transport and the consequences of directed auxin gradients are tackled in three chapters. Friml and Palme review their visually compelling molecular cell biology of the PIN proteins, plasma-membrane-bound auxin efflux carriers. Control of efflux activity is mediated by protein phosphorylation. The exact substrates of kinases and phosphatases remain uncertain, but this long-controversial field for plant signalling is clearly and fairly reviewed, not just for auxin transport, but also for auxin response signals. Phosphorylation has been reviewed by DeLong and colleagues and this trio is tied together neatly by a chapter on root gravitropism by Patrick Masson’s group.
As molecular biology advances our knowledge of mechanisms we frequently seek phylogenic evidence as we search for functional relationships. A masterly chapter from Todd Cooke and colleagues reviews evolutionary patterns in auxin action. They review biochemical and physiological assays for synthesis, metabolism, transport and development as the basis of a functional framework of evolution for this ancient signalling molecule.
Three chapters deal with auxin binding and some of the most immediate consequences of perception. The history of auxin-binding protein research and auxin receptors (Napier et al.) is followed by a short chapter on auxin-regulated ion transport by Becker and Hedrich, which links signalling temporally to extension growth and cell wall acidification. Scherer then tries to fill the most obvious gap in the auxin signalling pathway, the nature of the secondary messengers that link perception to channel activation and transcriptional regulation. Many candidate signalling intermediates have been investigated and this unhappy area is reviewed with clarity. The case for the involvement of phospholipase A2 is thoughtfully made, as is the distinction of signal transduction from signal duration and strength which are functions of the proteasome and transcription factors.
Of all the areas of auxin action, discovery and characterization of auxin-responsive gene expression has been the most productive and illuminating. Three chapters capture the essence of a considerable literature. Hagen and Guilfoyle review genes, promoters and regulatory factors, Liscum and Reed cover the genetics of Aux/IAA and ARF transcription factors and Dharmasiri and Estelle present their latest ideas on the critical importance of ubiquitination and the proteosome in protein degradation as it relates to the control of auxin action. Homologies to the yeast paradigm have often taken centre stage before, but this chapter summarizes the increasingly complete picture from plants.
The collection is completed by a chapter on auxin cross-talk, a timely overview of complexity as it is found that no single hormone response pathway is without input from or output to the pathways of other growth regulators. The chapter is a useful foundation text for all those who have still to take account of cross-talk in their experimental approaches. It is a shame that the chapter is missing in the hardback volume. It is present in the journal special issue.
Omission by the publishers of the last chapter does, however, raise the question about who might purchase such a book when there is a (complete) journal issue available already in print and electronic forms. It offers, undoubtedly, a very good coverage of a busy research area. It has many figures, each chapter is well illustrated with schemes or micrographs and all chapters have extensive, current and relevant reference lists to complement the reviews themselves. The level is pitched to make this a collection for specialists and researchers, graduate students and post-docs will find the material useful, and lecturers will find the compendium helpful. Undergraduates with a special interest will also be able to dip into it to get recent insights from experts.
The editors have done a good job collating these articles; I am pleased to have the volume on my shelves. Most of the research fields covered have been the subject of repeated reviews, the benefit of this volume is that such a wide spectrum of auxin molecular biology has been brought together. Nevertheless, the cover price is steep for those with library or subscription access to the journal.
I thank Navdeep Bains for contributing her thoughts for this book review.
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