bZIP transcription factors repress the expression of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) high molecular weight glutenin subunit genes in vegetative tissues

Authors/Creators

Csaba Éva
Blanka Moncsek
Kitti Szőke-Pázsi
Viola Kunos
Klára Mészáros
Szabolcs Makai
László Sági
Angéla Juhász, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Abstract

High molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW GS) represent an important fraction of endosperm-specific seed-storage proteins that provide elasticity to bread dough. Previously, the second cis-regulatory module (CRM2) was found to be one of the most conserved part of HMW GS promoters, which indicated its pre-eminent role in their gene regulation. Here, we observed that deletion of CRM2 from the promoters of the Bx7 and By8 HMW GS genes increased the leakage of their transient expression in wheat leaf tissue. The effect of a VP1, an Myb and an antisense bZIP transcription factor (TF)-binding site, potentially involved in endosperm-specific regulation within CRM2, was then studied. The activity of a Bx7 gene promoter containing a mutant CRM2 with altered VP1 and Myb TF-binding sites, but an intact bZIP TF-binding site, was similarly low to that of the wild type in leaves. Transactivation analysis and EMSA indicated the binding of TFs TabZIP34 and TabZIP115 to the Skn-1 motif GTCAT in CRM2 and the repression of Bx7 and By8 HMW GS gene promoter activity in leaves. TabZIP34 and TabZIP115 may be involved in the downregulation of HMW GS gene expression in vegetative tissues and early-stage endosperm as well its modulation during seed maturation.

RAS ID

56467

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2-1-2023

Volume

45

Issue

2

Funding Information

ELKH Centre for Agricultural Research

School

School of Science

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

Springer

Comments

Éva, C., Moncsek. B., Szőke‑Pázsi, K., Kunos, V., Mészáros, K., Makai, S., . . . Juhász, A. (2023). bZIP transcription factors repress the expression of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) high molecular weight glutenin subunit genes in vegetative tissues. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 45(2), article 29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-022-03503-6

Recommended Citation

Éva, C., Moncsek, B., Szőke-Pázsi, K., Kunos, V., Mészáros, K., Makai, S., Sági, L., & Juhász, A. (2023). bZIP transcription factors repress the expression of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) high molecular weight glutenin subunit genes in vegetative tissues. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-022-03503-6