Amide-linked conjugates of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are putative storage
or inactivation forms of the growth hormone auxin. Here, we describe the Ar
abidopsis iar3 mutant that displays reduced sensitivity to IAA-Ala. IAR3 is
a member of a family of Arabidopsis genes related to the previously isolat
ed ILR1 gene, which encodes an IAA-amino acid hydrolase selective for IAA-L
eu and IAA-Phe. IAR3 and the very similar ILL5 gene are closely linked on c
hromosome 1 and comprise a subfamily of the six Arabidopsis IAA-conjugate h
ydrolases. The purified IAR3 enzyme hydrolyzes IAA-Ala in vitro. iar3 ilr1
double mutants are more resistant than either single mutant to IAA-amino ac
id conjugates, and plants overexpressing IAR3 or ILR1 are more sensitive th
an is the wild type to certain IAA-amino acid conjugates, reflecting the ov
erlapping substrate specificities of the corresponding enzymes. The IAR3 ge
ne is expressed most strongly in roots, stems, and flowers, suggesting role
s for IAA-conjugate hydrolysis in those tissues.