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Transcription factor profiling identifies an aleurone‐preferred NAC family member involved in maize seed development
Author(s) -
Verza N.C.,
Figueira T.R.S.,
Sousa S.M.,
Arruda P.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.2010.00447.x
Subject(s) - endosperm , aleurone , biology , gene , gene family , transcription factor , abscisic acid , gene expression profiling , gene expression , genetics , transcriptome , zinc finger , oryza sativa , microbiology and biotechnology
Transcription factors (TFs) preferentially expressed in developing endosperm were identified by searching a maize transcriptome database. One thousand and two hundred TFs were annotated, 414 of which were shown to express in the seeds. Of these, 113 presented preferential expression in developing endosperm. Among the endosperm‐preferred TFs 13% were represented by members of the zinc‐finger family, 17% by members of the bZIP family and 11% by members of the NAC family. Among the NAC family TFs, we identified APN‐1, whose expression was detected 5 days after pollination (DAP) and peaked at 20 DAP. Analysis of the promoter sequence of gene encoding APN‐1 revealed the presence of cis‐elements related to endosperm‐specificity, abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA) signalling. Transient expression analysis of a construct containing the β ‐glucuronidase gene driven by the Apn‐1 gene promoter showed that expression was restricted to the aleurone cell layer. Analysis of mRNA levels in developing maize endosperm treated with hormones revealed that the expression of the gene encoding APN‐1 was stimulated by ABA and inhibited by GA.