The T-region of Ti plasmids codes for an enzyme synthesizing indole-3-acetic acid

Gene 2 from the T region of Ti plasmids appears to be expressed both in eucaryotic and in procaryotic systems. In transformed plant cells it participates in auxin-controlled growth and differentiation, and in bacteria it is expressed into a defined protein of Mr 49000. We investigated the possibility that it codes for an enzyme involved in auxin biosynthesis. Only extracts from Escherichia coli cells expressing gene 2 hydrolyzed indole-3-acetamide into a substance which was unambiguously identified as indole-3-acetic acid. The same reaction was found in Agrobacteria containing gene 2, but not in strains lacking the gene. Extracts from tobacco crown gall cells, but not from non-transformed cells, showed the same enzyme activity, and the reaction product was also identified as indole-3-acetic acid. The results indicate that gene 2 of the T region, which participates in tumorous growth of plant cells, codes both in bacteria and in plants for an amidohydrolase involved in the biosynthesis of the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid.