Specificity of Auxin-binding Sites on Maize Coleoptile Membranes as Possible Receptor Sites for Auxin Action

Dissociation coefficients of auxin-binding sites on maize (Zea mays L.) coleoptile membranes were measured, for 48 auxins and related ring compounds, by competitive displacement of (14)C-naphthaleneacetic acid from the binding sites. The sites bind with high affinity several ring compounds with acidic side chains 2 to 4 carbons long, and much more weakly bind neutral ring compounds and phenols related to these active acids, most phenoxyalkylcarboxylic acids, and arylcarboxylic acids except benzoic acid, which scarcely binds, and triiodobenzoic acids, which bind strongly. Specificity of the binding is narrowed in the presence of a low molecular weight "supernatant factor" that occurs in maize and other tissues. Activity of many of the analogs as auxin agonists or antagonists in the cell elongation response was determined with maize coleoptiles. These activities on the whole roughly parallel the affinities of the binding sites for the same compounds, especially affinities measured in the presence of supernatant factor, but there are some quantitative discrepancies, especially among phenoxyalkylcarboxylic acids. In view of several factors that can cause receptor affinity and biological activity values to diverge quantitatively among analogs, the findings appear to support the presumption that the auxin-binding sites may be receptors for auxin action.