Fatty acid signalling in plants and their associated microorganisms

Abstract

Fatty acid signals in plants have a long history. A fatty acid derivative, traumatic acid, was identified as a cell division promoter in wounded bean mesocarp and was among the first ever biologically active molecules isolated directly from a plant tissue. A structure for this molecule was published in 1939 [20]. Indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA), an auxin isolated from urine in 1934, was definitively isolated from plant tissues in 1942 by Haagen-Smit et al. [32]. Like the complex story of the discovery of the structures of auxins, the true nature of traumatic acid has been confusing due to the more recent discovery that this compound may have become modified during the extraction leading to its discovery [77]. With renewed interest in fatty acid signalling, some of the old literature is being revised and many new facets of fatty acid signalling are emerging.