Seek and Ye Shall [eventually] Find: The End of the Search for the Auxin Receptor

The mechanism by which the plant hormone auxin regulates gene expression has been shown to involve regulated degradation, through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, of transcriptional repressor proteins. However, the key first component in this pathway, the receptor that binds auxin and initiates auxin signaling, has remained a mystery. Two recent papers identify the F-box protein TIR1, part of the complex that attaches ubiquitin to its targets, as an auxin receptor. This breakthrough reveals a new mode of signal transduction and lays the groundwork for a more complete understanding of auxin physiology.