Indole-3-pyruvic acid regulates TAA1 activity, which plays a key role in coordinating the two steps of auxin biosynthesis.

Auxin biosynthesis involves two types of enzymes: the Trp aminotransferases (TAA/TARs) and the flavin monooxygenases (YUCCAs). This two-step pathway is highly conserved throughout the plant kingdom and is essential for almost all of the major developmental processes. Despite their importance, it is unclear how these enzymes are regulated and how their activities are coordinated. Here, we show that TAA1/TARs are regulated by their product indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPyA) (or its mimic KOK2099) via negative feedback regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. This regulatory system also functions in rice and tomato. This negative feedback regulation appears to be achieved by both the reversibility of Trp aminotransferase activity and the competitive inhibition of TAA1 activity by IPyA. The Km value of IPyA is 0.7 µM, and that of Trp is 43.6 µM; this allows IPyA to be maintained at low levels and prevents unfavorable nonenzymatic indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) formation from IPyA in vivo. Thus, IPyA levels are maintained by the push (by TAA1/TARs) and pull (by YUCCAs) of the two biosynthetic enzymes, in which TAA1 plays a key role in preventing the over- or under-accumulation of IPyA. TAA1 prefer Ala among various amino acid substrates in the reverse reaction of auxin biosynthesis, allowing TAA1 to show specificity for converting Trp and pyruvate to IPyA and Ala, and the reverse reaction.