Project description:In plants, CCCH zinc finger proteins involved in secondary wall formation and anther development are poorly understood. We have functionally identified two homologous genes C3H14 and C3H15 and found that the two genes differentially regulate secondary wall formation and anther development. C3H14 contributes more to secondary wall thickening, whereas, C3H15 is more important for anther development. We performed microarray analyses on C3H14/15 overexpressors and c3h14c3h15 double mutant to to ientify differentially-expressed genes involved in the two developmental processes. Our microarray data show that C3H14 and C3H15 regulate the expression of a number of genes involved in various biological activities, particularly those associated with secondary wall metabolism and pollen formation.
Project description:In plants, CCCH zinc finger proteins involved in secondary wall formation and anther development are poorly understood. We have functionally identified two homologous genes C3H14 and C3H15 and found that the two genes differentially regulate secondary wall formation and anther development. C3H14 contributes more to secondary wall thickening, whereas, C3H15 is more important for anther development. We performed microarray analyses on C3H14/15 overexpressors and c3h14c3h15 double mutant to to ientify differentially-expressed genes involved in the two developmental processes.
Project description:Recently, AtC3H14, a CCCH-type zinc finger protein, was identified as one of the direct targets of MYB46, which is known as a master regulator of secondary wall biosynthesis. AtC3H14 and their homologs (i.e., AtC3H15 and PtrC3H14-1 from Arabidopsis and poplar, respectively) are predominantly expressed in the secondary wall forming tissues. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtC3H14 (i.e., 35S::AtC3H14 plants) produced dwarfing phenotypes. 35S::AtC3H14 plants developed phloem fibers earlier than wild-type and this phenotype was more pronounced in the roots. Interestingly, ectopic secondary wall thickenings were found in both stems and roots. These phenotypic consequences are successively reproduced from the 35S::AtC3H15 and 35S::PtrC3H14-1 plants. Whole transcriptome GeneChip analysis identified that the ‘cell wall’ and ‘extracellular’-related genes are extremely over-represented in the stem tissues of 35S::AtC3H14 plants. These results suggest that AtC3H14 may act as a negative regulator of cell elongation with modification of cell wall reassembly and be involved in the secondary wall formation in Arabidopsis.
Project description:MYB46 functions as a transcriptional switch that turns on the genes necessary for secondary wall biosynthesis. Elucidating the transcriptional regulatory network immediately downstream of MYB46 is crucial to our understanding of the molecular and biochemical processes involved in the biosynthesis and deposition of secondary walls in plants. The transcription factors identified here may include direct activators of secondary wall biosynthesis genes. The current study discovered novel hierarchical relationships among the transcription factors involved in the transcriptional regulation of secondary wall biosynthesis and generated several testable hypotheses.
Project description:Secondary wall thickening in the sclerenchyma cells is strictly controlled by a complex network of transcription factors in vascular plant. However, little is known about the epigenetic mechanism regulating secondary cell wall biosynthesis. Genome-wide analysis revealed that the up-regulation of genes involved in secondary wall formation during stem development is largely coordinated by increasing level of H3K4 tri-methylation. In this study, we identified that ARABIDOPSIS HOMOLOG of TRITHORAX1 (ATX1), a H3K4-histone methyltransferase, positively regulates secondary wall deposition mainly through activating the expression of secondary wall NAC master switch genes, SECONDARY WALL-ASSOCIATED NAC DOMAIN PROTEIN1 (SND1) and NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR1 (NST1).
Project description:Proper cell wall regulation is essential for growth and development in plants. Here we report that the constitutive expression of MYB87 chimera repressor causes the suppressed longitudinal organ elongation in almost all organs. Aberrant transversal growth is also observed in multiple organs which coincide with transversally expanded or swollen cells. Microarray analysis revealed the transcript levels of various primary cell wall related enes are up- or down-regulated, and those of secondary wall related genes are down- regulated in the chimera repressor plants. These findings ontribute to the further understanding of complex cell wall regulations and their roles in plant growth and development.
Project description:The Arabidopsis thaliana NAC domain transcription factor, VASCULAR-RELATED NAC-DOMAIN7 (VND7), acts as a key regulator of xylem vessel differentiation. In order to identify direct target genes of VND7, we performed global transcriptome analysis using Arabidopsis transgenic lines in which VND7 activity could be induced post-translationally. This analysis identified 63 putative direct target genes of VND7, which encode a broad range of proteins, such as transcription factors, IRREGULAR XYLEM proteins and proteolytic enzymes, known to be closely associated with xylem vessel formation. Recombinant VND7 protein binds to several promoter sequences present in candidate direct target genes: specifically, in the promoter of XYLEM CYSTEINE PEPTIDASE1, two distinct regions were demonstrated to be responsible for VND7 binding. We also found that expression of VND7 restores secondary cell wall formation in the fiber cells of inflorescence stems of nst1 nst3 double mutants, as well as expression of NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR3 (NST3, however, the vessel-type secondary wall deposition was observed only as a result of VND7 expression. These findings indicated that VND7 upregulates, directly and/or indirectly, many genes involved in a wide range of processes in xylem vessel differentiation, and that its target genes are partially different from those of NSTs.