Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production by Arthrobacter species isolated from Azolla

SUMMARY: Arthrobacter species, isolated from the leaf cavities and the microsporocarps of the aquatic fern species Azolla pinnata and Azolla filiculoides, produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in culture when the precursor tryptophan was added to the medium. No IAA production was detected in the absence of tryptophan. Maximum IAA formation was obtained in the first 2 d of incubation. Part of the tryptophan was transformed to Nα-acetyl-L-tryptophan.