Transcription factor AtDOF4.2 regulates shoot branching and seed coat formation in Arabidopsis

ABSTRACT: Plant-specific DOF-type transcription factors regulate various biological processes. Here, we characterized a silique-abundant gene AtDOF4.2 for its functions in Arabidopsis. AtDOF4.2 is localized in the nuclear region and has transcriptional activation activity in both yeast and plant protoplast assays. The Thr-Met-Asp motif in AtDOF4.2 is essential for its activation. AtDOF4.2-overexpressing plants exhibit an increased branching phenotype, and the mutation of Thr-Met-Asp motif in AtDOF4.2 significantly reduces the branching in transgenic plants. AtDOF4.2 may achieve this function through the upregulation of three branching-related genes, AtSTM, AtTFL1 and AtCYP83B1. The seeds of an AtDOF4.2-overexpressing plant show collapse-like morphology in epidermal cells of the seed coat. Mucilage contents and the concentration and composition of mucilage monosaccharides are significantly changed in the seed coat of transgenic plants. AtDOF4.2 may exert its effects on the seed epidermis through the direct binding and activation of the cell wall loosening-related gene AtEXPA9. The dof4.2 mutant did not exhibit changes in branching or its seed coat; however, the silique length and seed yield were increased. AtDOF4.4, which is a close homolog of AtDOF4.2, also promotes shoot branching and affects silique size and seed yield. Manipulation of these genes should have a practical use in the improvement of agronomic traits in important crops. Two-week-old seedlings (aerial part) of Col-0 and AtDOF4.4-overexpressing transgenic lines 4.4-1 and 4.4-5, grown on MS, were used for extraction of total RNA and subjected to chip analysis using Agilent Arabidopsis Oligo Microarray (4X44K) in SHANGHAIBIO CORPORATION (www.ebioservice.com; Shanghai, China).

ORGANISM(S): Arabidopsis thaliana

SUBMITTER: Jinsong Zhang 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-41682 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress