title: TIRs of joy: new receptors for auxin.
abstract: Back-to-back papers have described the identification of a family of receptors for the plant hormone auxin. Most developmental processes in plants are dependent on auxin signalling making this discovery a landmark in the search for the mechanism of auxin action. The TIR1 gene translates into a protein with recognised motifs including an F-box domain and TIR1 forms part of an important ubiquitination complex that tags other proteins for degradation. Specific amongst the targets of TIR1 are a set of auxin-regulated transcription factors. The latest work has shown that TIR1 itself is also the binding site for auxin making it an auxin receptor with no requirement for a biochemical signalling cascade.
authors.affiliation: Warwick HRI, University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF, UK. Richard.napier@warwick.ac.uk
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Napier
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C046131:auxin receptor, plant