AbstractAuxin (2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) starvation of soybean cell suspension leads to the arrest of cell division after about 4 days. Readdition of 4 μM of auxin enables cells to divide again after a lag phase of 1 day. Accumulation of a well‐known isoflavonoid‐derived phytoalexin (glyceollin) and a highly elevated catalytic activity of two of the enzymes associated with glyceollin biosynthesis, phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase and chalcone isomerase, is described. Moreover, stimulation of catalytic activity of the enzymes chitinase and β 1,3‐glucanase, which are involved in plant defense against pathogens, is observed at the same time. By comparing the patterns of in vitro protein synthesis, we have identified groups of polypeptides whose synthesis is either positively or negatively regulated by auxin. Some of these polypeptides are also induced by fungal elicitor treatment. Our results provide evidence of a dual control by auxin and fungal elicitor working in an opposite manner on the inducibility of enzymes and proteins that play a role in the induced defense response