Aux/IAA gene family is conserved in the gymnosperm, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda).

We isolated five members of the Aux/IAA gene family in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). Degenerate primers complementary to conserved regions of angiosperm Aux/IAA genes were used to amplify fragments that were, in turn, used as probes to screen a cDNA library constructed from auxin-treated hypocotyls. The five unique clones, named PTIAA1-5, contain the four highly conserved domains that are characteristic of the Aux/IAA proteins. All clones contain the bipartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) between Domains I and II that is predicted in most angiosperm Aux/IAA genes, but only one, PTIAA2, contains the conserved NLS in Domain IV. The five invariant residues in Domain II that have been found to constitute part of a protein destabilization element in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. are conserved in all the PTIAAs. A postulated phosphorylation site located between Domains I and II and proximal to the conserved bipartite NLS was conserved in 20 out of 36 genes in this analysis, including the pine genes. Transcripts of all five PTIAAs accumulated specifically in the hypocotyls in response to exogenous auxin treatment and were induced by all auxins tested. Transcript abundance above basal levels in response to 1-naphthaleneacetic acid treatment was first detected after 10 min (PTIAA3) to 3 h (PTIAA2) in the different genes and remained above basal levels throughout 7 days. Induction of PTIAA2 was inhibited by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, indicating that PTIAA2 is a secondary response gene. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all five pine genes clustered within a single class (Class I) of the dendrogram. Clone PTIAA2 has a sequence that is relatively distinct from the other four and is the most closely related to the angiosperm genes of Class I. Class I contains both primary and secondary auxin response genes, suggesting that it is the original lineage and that other gene classes have evolved subsequent to the angiosperm/gymnosperm divergence.