Excited indole-3-aldehyde from the peroxidase-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of indole-3-acetic acid. Reaction with and energy transfer to transfer ribonucleic acid.

The horseradish peroxidase catalyzed aerobic oxidation of the auxin indole-3-acetic acid generates triplet indole-3-aldehyde in high yield. The excited species is quenched by oxygen with formation of singlet oxygen, which is responsible for the observed photon emission and can be trapped by suitable agents. tRNA dramatically enhances the emission as a result of energy transfer from triplet indole-3-aldehyde to a 4-thiouridine group in tRNA. Triplet indole-3-aldehyde also adds covalently to tRNA. The results provide a possible mechanism for the auxin-tRNA interaction in vivo.