Question

Is IAA an Auxin?

Answer 1

- Auxins are a group of plant hormones (or plant growth regulators) that resemble morphogens. They are important for plant body development and play a critical role in the coordination of many growths and behavioural processes in plant life cycles.
- Auxins are also involved in cell division and differentiation, fruit growth, root formation from cuttings, lateral branch inhibition and leaf fall.

Complete answer:
- The most important naturally occurring auxin is ß-indolyl acetic acid (IAA), which is produced by the breakdown of carbohydrates known as glycosides or by the amino acid tryptophan. This hormone affects plants by affecting the chemical bonds in the carbs that make up plant cell walls.
- IAA is the primary auxin in plants, controlling cell division and elongation, tissue differentiation, apical dominance, and responses to light, gravity, and pathogens, among other things.
- IAA and other auxins influence the growth of stems toward the light and against gravity, in addition to supporting normal plant length growth.
- Auxins are a group of naturally occurring and synthetic compounds that promote growth, but they are not always as effective as IAA. Some of these compounds, on the other hand, are resistant to the enzymatic degradation that is IAA's normal fate within the plant.
- The auxin class's most common plant hormone, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), regulates various aspects of plant growth and development. As a result, the terms "auxin" and "IAA" are sometimes used interchangeably.

Note:
- Frits Warmolt Went, a Dutch scientist, was the first to characterise auxins and their role in plant growth. Kenneth V. Thimann isolated auxin and discovered that it is made up of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).
- IAA is produced in the growing tip of a plant shoot and diffuses downward through the stem, according to current knowledge. IAA inhibits the development of axillary buds and branching growth below the tip of the plant (the apical meristem) as long as the apical meristem is intact.