Project description:RAV1 (RELATED TO ABI3/VP1) is a plant-specific B3 domain and AP2 domain-containing transcription factor and acts as a negative regulator of growth in many plant species. Expression of the RAV1 was down-regulated by BR, and through the large-scale transcriptome analyses its expression was previously shown to be targeted by BES1 and BZR1 that are critical transcription factors for BR-signaling process. Using the RAV1-overexpressing transgenic plants, here we showed that RAV1 overexpression reduced BR signaling capacity, resulting in the up-regulation of BR biosynthetic genes and down regulation of BES1 expression. Furthermore, we demonstrated that BES1, not BZR1, directly bound to the RAV1 promoter and repressed RAV1 expression, and vice versa, RAV1 also bound to the BES1 promoter and repressed BES1 expression. This mutual inhibition was specific to between RAV1 and BES1, because RAV1 showed binding activity to BZR1 promoter but did not repressed BZR1 expression. To validate this mutual inhibition of RAV1 and BES1, we generated transgenic bes1-D plants overexpressing RAV1 and observed that constitutively activated BR-signaling phenotypes in bes1-D were attenuated due to the repression of endogenous BES1 expression. To investigate transcriptomic expressional changes that are regulated by RAV1 and BES1, we performed RNA-sequencing analysis from RAV1-overexpressing transgenic plants and bes1-D mutant plant. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by RAV1 and BES1, respectively, as well as the genes that are oppositely co-regulated by RAV1 and BES1. And we found that RAV1 and BES1 regulate different transcriptome but co-regulate a specific set of genes that are responsible for the balance between growth and defense. Taken together, these results suggested that mutual inhibitory transcriptional activities of the RAV1 and BES1 provide fine regulatory mechanisms for plants growth and development mediated by BR signaling.
Project description:Brassinosteroids (BRs) are important regulators for plant growth and development. BRs signal to control the activities of the BES1 and BZR1 family transcription factors. In order to further understand the mechanism by which BES1/BZR1 regulates downstream genes, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with tiling arrays (ChIP-chip) to identify BES1 binding sites in the genome. By combining ChIP-chip data with gene expression microarray data, we are able to discover genes that are directly regulated by BES1 (i.e. BES1 target genes). Chromatin from bes1-D Arabidopsis seedlings are immunoprecipitated by anti-BES1 antibody with anti-GFP antibody as control.
Project description:Brassinosteroids (BRs) are important regulators for plant growth and development. BRs signal to control the activities of the BES1 and BZR1 family transcription factors. In order to further understand the mechanism by which BES1/BZR1 regulates downstream genes, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with tiling arrays (ChIP-chip) to identify BES1 binding sites in the genome. By combining ChIP-chip data with gene expression microarray data, we are able to discover genes that are directly regulated by BES1 (i.e. BES1 target genes).
Project description:Brassinosteroid hormones are essential for growth and development in seed plants. In Arabidopsis, transcriptional factors from the AtBES1 (BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR1)/AtBZR1 (BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT 1) family, are main regulators of steroid phytohormone Brassinosteroids, which finely coordinate gene expression. While genome sequence analysis in Marchantia polymorpha failed to identify BR receptors homologues to the BRI1-family, a homologue of downstream BR-regulated BES1/BZR1 transcription factors is present. Here, we decipher the biological function of MpBES1 in liverwort. Mpbes1 knock out plants have impaired thallus development, pointing up the conservation of BES1 function in organ development. RNAseq analysis of Mpbes1 reveals a prominent deregulation of oxidation processes, responses to stress and carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore, in the Arabidopsis orthologs of Mpbes1 deregulated genes, described targets of AtBES1/BZR1 are overrepresented, suggesting a major conservation in the signaling module. In conclusion, this study unravels the origin of BES1/BZR1 family of transcriptional factors in plant cell division.
Project description:MicroRNAs and phytophormes are all small molecular signals that play important roles in regulating development and environmental responses in plants. The interplay between them allow the plants to better converge multiple inner and outer signals to optimizing their survival strategy. So far, the knowledge of how miRNAs are involved in brassinosteroid (BR) signaling is lacking. Here, we report the finding of miR394 and its target gene LEAF CURLING RESPONSENESS (LCR), which were transcriptionally responsive to BR, participate in BR signaling in regulating hypocotyls elongation in Arabidopsis. By phenotypic analyzing of a set of transgenic and mutants, miR394 was found to act as a negative regulator in BR signaling in hypocotyls elongation, while its target gene on the contrary. Genetically, miR394 functions upstream of BIN2 and BZR1/BES1, but partially downstream or independent with BRI1 and BSU1. RNA-seq analysis further supports that miR394 inhibits BR signaling through BIN2 because miR394 co-regulate significant number of genes together with BIN2. Additionally, miR394 improved the accumulation of BIN2 but decreased the protein amount of BZR1 and BES1, which can be phosphorylated by BIN2. miR394 also repressed the transcription of PRE1/5/6 and EXP8, the key hypocotyls elongation regulating genes, which had been reported to be BZR1/BES1 targets. These findings revealed a new pathway that miRNA involved in BR signaling in Arabidopsis.
Project description:Plant BZR1-BAM transcription factors contain a β-amylase (BAM)-like domain, characteristic of proteins involved in starch breakdown. The enzyme-derived domains appear to be non-catalytic, but determine the function of the Arabidopsis thaliana BZR1-BAMs (BAM7 and BAM8) during transcriptional initiation. Microarray experiments with plants overexpressing different mutant versions of the proteins show that only functional BZR1-BAM variants deregulate gene expression and cause leaf developmental abnormalities. Transcriptional changes caused by overexpression of the BZR1 domain alone indicate that the BAM domain increases selectivity for the preferred cis-regulatory element BBRE (BZR1-BAM Responsive Element). In this study, we used the ATH1 GeneChip microarray to investigate transcript abundance in different Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes.