Towards integrating the AHL transcription factors into a plant growth gene regulatory network
| Project/Area Number |
19F19781
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 外国 |
|---|
| Review Section |
Basic Section 44030:Plant molecular biology and physiology-related
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Institute of Physical and Chemical Research |
|---|
| Host Researcher |
杉本 慶子 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 環境資源科学研究センター, チームリーダー (30455349)
|
|---|
| Foreign Research Fellow |
FAVERO DAVID 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 環境資源科学研究センター, 外国人特別研究員
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2019-11-08 – 2022-03-31
|
| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2020)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | AHL / SOB3 / petiole / PIF / transcription / growth / plants / photomorphogenesis |
|---|
| Outline of Research at the Start |
The aim of this project is to establish where AT-HOOK MOTIF NUCLEAR LOCALIZED(AHL) transcription factors(TFs) fit withing gene regulatory networks(GRNs) which modulate growth in response to environmental stimuli in the model Plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The AHL transcription factors are known to repress hypocotyl growth in seedlings. However, it is largely unknown how AHLs are positioned in the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) which regulate growth. I have sought to begin to answer this question by studying how AHLs regulate petiole growth in Arabidopsis. Genetic studies combined with data from RNA-seq and ChIP-seq experiments have revealed that SOB3/AHL29 and other AHLs repress petiole elongation by inhibiting the ability of PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) to activate the transcription of growth-promoting genes. This led me to investigate in detail the mechanism by which SOB3 inhibits PIF-mediated activation of growth-promoting genes. Semi-quantitative western blot analysis revealed that induction of SOB3 reduces PIF4 protein levels. ChIP-qPCR further revealed PIF4 binding to target growth-promoting genes is reduced following SOB3 induction.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Within the last fiscal year of this project, the western blot and ChIP-qPCR experiments described above were completed. These were the final pieces of data needed to finish a paper that was resubmitted to Current Biology and then published online in this journal in March. Specifically, this paper describes how AHLs repress petiole growth by reducing PIF-mediated activation of growth-promoting genes in two different ways. First, AHLs reduce the level of PIF4 protein, likely by enhancing its degradation, as PIFs are relatively unstable in light-grown plants. Second, AHLs bind similar DNA regions as those bound by PIFs, directly inhibiting the ability of these transcription factors to bind to and activate target genes.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Several different studies suggest that AHLs regulate gene transcription by serving as part of a larger DNA-protein complex. Some putative co-factors potentially important for AHL function have been identified. In order to further investigate how AHLs fit into GRNs that regulate growth, I will evaluate how these putative co-factors affect AHL-mediated transcriptional changes and growth repression. Further, I will investigate how various stimuli and transcription factors regulate expression of AHLs.
|
Report
(1 results)
Research Products
(6 results)
