PJB-2018-409
Identification of transcription factor ZmZAT8 involved in abscisic acid regulation pathway of starch synthesis in maize endosperm
Tinglan Jiang, Miao Xia, Huanhuan Huang, Jianlu Xiao, Jiao Long, Xiao Li and Junjie Zhang
Abstract
Maize starch, which is closely related with the yield and the quality of the produced maize, has wide applications. Even though the main pathway of starch biosynthesis has been identified, the full array of genes involved and the mechanisms regulating their expression are still unclear. In this study, a new gene, named ZmZAT8, was chosen and cloned as a candidate gene based on our previously published transcriptome data of maize endosperm treated with ABA. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that ZmZAT8 encodes 21.6kD protein comprising 184 amino acids and two QALGGH domains, which is a conserved feature of plant C2H2-type Zinc-finger proteins. ABA could strongly stimulate the expression of ZmZAT8, as confirmed by real-time RT-PCR analysis. Moreover, a series of evaluations regarding the ZmZAT8 were performed, including analyses of subcellular localization, transcription activation, protein-DNA interactions, and transient expression in maize endosperm. The results showed that the ZmZAT8 protein was capable of regulating the expression of Sh2, Bt1, and Wx, which were all key genes involved in starch synthesis. In conclusion, our data suggests that ZmZAT8, a novel ABA-induced C2H2-type zinc-finger transcription factor, may play a positive role in regulating starch synthesis in maize endosperm
To Cite this article:
Jiang, T., M. Xia, H. Huang, J. Xiao, J. Long, X. Li and J. Zhang. 2019. Identification of transcription factor ZmZAT8 involved in abscisic acid regulation pathway of starch synthesis in maize endosperm. Pak. J. Bot., 51(6): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2019-6(26)
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