Effect of fluorophenylalanine on indole-3-acetic acid oxidation in Avena coleoptiles

Abstract

Effects of the amino acid analog D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine on auxin oxidizing activity from <i>Avena saliva</i> cv. Clintford have been examined. Incubation of etiolated <i>Avena</i> coleoptile apices with D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine, previously reported to promote elongation and depress phenolic metabolism, lowers auxin oxidizing activity. Temperature and pH profiles demonstrated that depression of oxidizing activity by D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine occurs over a relatively wide range. Incubation of coleoptiles in media containing L-phenylalanine alone or L-phenylalanine combined with D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine result in oxidizing activities which are, respectively, slightly higher than or restored to control levels. Thus, dark incubation of coleoptiles with D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine results in auxin oxidizing activity which differs from that of control and other treatment groups. Oxidizing activity from D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine pretreated coleoptiles has a Michaelis constant (70 µM) and a maximum velocity (0.200) which are consistently lower than the control constants. These findings provide further clarification of the effects of D,L-p-fluorophenylalanine, on coleoptile elongation and auxin oxidizing activity in etiolated <i>Avena</i> coleoptiles.