Interaction of the plant hormone, indole-3-acetic acid, with phosphatidylcholine model membranes: effects of acyl chain length

The interaction between the plant hormone, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and phosphatidylcholines (PC) of varying acyl chain length has been studied by monitoring the IAA-induced changes in 1H-NMR chemical shifts of lipid headgroup -+N(CH3)3 protons. For PCs in both micellar and vesicle bilayer systems these shifts increase with chain length although for the latter the magnitude of the shifts decreases with an increase in chain unsaturation. In systems composed of mixtures of pure PCs the headgroup -+N(CH3)3 resonance for each phospholipid is shifted by IAA to different extents, indicating that IAA is able to distinguish between individual PCs in mixtures. In di-C12PC and di-C14PC, but not di-C10PC vesicle systems, the -+N(CH3)3 resonance is split into two components reflecting differences in packing of the inside and outside lamellae. This splitting is altered by IAA indicating that IAA interacts differently with the inside and outside PC molecules.