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Repressor for hire! The vital roles of TOPLESS‐mediated transcriptional repression in plants
Author(s) -
Plant Alastair Robert,
Larrieu Antoine,
Causier Barry
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.17428
Subject(s) - corepressor , repressor , psychological repression , biology , function (biology) , transcriptional regulation , plant development , mechanism (biology) , regulation of gene expression , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , gene expression , philosophy , epistemology
Summary Transcriptional corepressors play important roles in establishing the appropriate levels of gene expression during growth and development. The TOPLESS (TPL) family of corepressors are critical for all plant life. TPLs are involved in numerous developmental processes and in the response to extrinsic challenges. As such these proteins have been the focus of intense study since Long and colleagues first described the TPL corepressor in 2006. In this review we will explore the evolutionary history of these essential plant‐specific proteins, their mechanism of action based on recent structural analyses, and the myriad of pathways in which they function. We speculate how relatively minor changes in the peptide sequence of transcriptional regulators allowed them to recruit TPL into new processes, driving innovation and resulting in TPL becoming vital for plant development.