Isolation and characterization of Azospirillum mutants excreting high amounts of indoleacetic acid

Abstract

Mutants of Azospirillum brasilense Sp Cd, resistant to 5-fluorotryptophan (FT) excreted 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA), i.e., auxin, producing up to 16 μg/mL which was 30 times greater than the wild-type level. Under conditions of nitrogen fixation, the mutants excreted IAA up to 1 μg/mL, 10 times more than the wild type. However, none of the FT-resistant mutants of Azospirillum lipoferum Sp RG 20a excreted high levels of IAA. This was probably due to differences in the tryptophan and IAA biosynthetic steps between A. brasilense and A. lipoferum strains. Some of the FT-resistant mutants of A. brasilense Sp Cd showed a reduced feedback inhibition of anthranilate synthetase by tryptophan. The increased synthesis of tryptophan could explain the observed excretion of tryptophan and related metabolites. In addition, the IAA-overproducing mutants excreted other amino acids, probably owing to pleiotropic effects of deregulated tryptophan biosynthesis on amino acid metabolism. The growth patterns of some mutants excreting large amounts of IAA were almost identical to those of the wild type.