ARF degradation defines a deeply conserved step in auxin response

In land plants, the signalling molecule auxin profoundly controls growth and development, chiefly through a transcriptional response system. The auxin response is mediated by modulating the activity of DNA-binding auxin response factor (ARF) proteins. The concentrations and stoichiometry of the competing A- and B-class ARFs define cells’ capacity for auxin response. In the minimal auxin response system of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, both A- and B-ARFs are unstable, but the underlying mechanisms, developmental relevance and evolutionary history of this instability are unknown. Here we identify a minimal motif that is necessary for MpARF2 (B-class) degradation and show that it is critical for development and the auxin response. Through comparative analysis and motif swaps among all ARF classes in extant algae and land plants, we infer that the emergence of ARF instability probably occurred in the ancestor of the A- and B-ARF clades and, therefore, preceded or coincided with the origin of the auxin response system.