Modulation of auxin content in Arabidopsis confers improved drought stress resistance

Auxin is a well-known plant phytohormone that is involved in multiple plant growth processes and stress responses. In this study, auxin response was significantly modulated under drought stress condition. The iaaM-OX transgenic lines with higher endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) level and IAA pre-treated wild type (WT) plants exhibited enhanced drought stress resistance, while the yuc1yuc2yuc6 triple mutants with lower endogenous IAA level showed decreased stress resistance in comparison to non-treated WT plants. Additionally, endogenous and exogenous auxin positively modulated the expression levels of multiple abiotic stress-related genes (RAB18, RD22, RD29A, RD29B, DREB2A, and DREB2B), and positively affected reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism and underlying antioxidant enzyme activities. Moreover, auxin significantly modulated some carbon metabolites including amino acids, organic acids, sugars, sugar alcohols and aromatic amines. Notably, endogenous and exogenous auxin positively modulated root architecture especially the lateral root number. Taken together, this study demonstrated that auxin might participate in the positive regulation of drought stress resistance, through regulation of root architecture, ABA-responsive genes expression, ROS metabolism, and metabolic homeostasis, at least partially.