Auxin has always been at the forefront of research in plant physiology and development. Since the earliest contemplations by Julius von Sachs and Charles Darwin, more than a century-long struggle has been waged to understand its function. This largely reflects the failures, successes, and inevitable progress in the entire field of plant signaling and development. Here I present 14 stations on our long and sometimes mystical journey to understand auxin. These highlights were selected to give a flavor of the field and to show the scope and limits of our current knowledge. A special focus is put on features that make auxin unique among phytohormones, such as its dynamic, directional transport network, which integrates external and internal signals, including self-organizing feedback. Accented are persistent mysteries and controversies. The unexpected discoveries related to rapid auxin responses and growth regulation recently disturbed our contentment regarding understanding of the auxin signaling mechanism. These new revelations, along with advances in technology, usher us into a new, exciting era in auxin research.

中文翻译：

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生长素十四站

生长素一直处于植物生理发育研究的前沿。自从朱利叶斯·冯·萨克斯和查尔斯·达尔文最早的思考以来，为了理解它的功能，已经进行了一个多世纪的斗争。这在很大程度上反映了整个植物信号和发育领域的失败、成功和不可避免的进步。在这里，我介绍了我们了解生长素的漫长而有时是神秘的旅程中的 14 个站点。选择这些亮点是为了展示该领域的风格，并展示我们当前知识的范围和局限性。特别关注使生长素在植物激素中独一无二的特性，例如其动态的定向运输网络，该网络整合了外部和内部信号，包括自组织反馈。强调的是持续存在的谜团和争议。最近与快速生长素反应和生长调节有关的意外发现扰乱了我们对生长素信号传导机制的理解。这些新的发现，以及技术的进步，将我们带入了一个新的、令人兴奋的生长素研究时代。