Saskatoon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X2, Canada.
Plant Physiol. 2010 Mar;152(3):1109-34. doi: 10.1104/pp.109.151704. Epub 2010 Jan 22.
The ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motif is a transcriptional regulatory motif identified in members of the ethylene-responsive element binding factor, C2H2, and auxin/indole-3-acetic acid families of transcriptional regulators. Sequence comparison of the core EAR motif sites from these proteins revealed two distinct conservation patterns: LxLxL and DLNxxP. Proteins containing these motifs play key roles in diverse biological functions by negatively regulating genes involved in developmental, hormonal, and stress signaling pathways. Through a genome-wide bioinformatics analysis, we have identified the complete repertoire of the EAR repressome in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) comprising 219 proteins belonging to 21 different transcriptional regulator families. Approximately 72% of these proteins contain a LxLxL type of EAR motif, 22% contain a DLNxxP type of EAR motif, and the remaining 6% have a motif where LxLxL and DLNxxP are overlapping. Published in vitro and in planta investigations support approximately 40% of these proteins functioning as negative regulators of gene expression. Comparative sequence analysis of EAR motif sites and adjoining regions has identified additional preferred residues and potential posttranslational modification sites that may influence the functionality of the EAR motif. Homology searches against protein databases of poplar (Populus trichocarpa), grapevine (Vitis vinifera), rice (Oryza sativa), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) revealed that the EAR motif is conserved across these diverse plant species. This genome-wide analysis represents the most extensive survey of EAR motif-containing proteins in Arabidopsis to date and provides a resource enabling investigations into their biological roles and the mechanism of EAR motif-mediated transcriptional regulation.
乙烯响应元件结合因子相关的两亲性抑制(EAR)基序是在乙烯响应元件结合因子、C2H2 和生长素/吲哚-3-乙酸家族的转录调节剂成员中鉴定出的转录调控基序。这些蛋白质核心 EAR 基序位点的序列比较揭示了两种不同的保守模式:LxLxL 和 DLNxxP。含有这些基序的蛋白质通过负调控参与发育、激素和应激信号通路的基因,在各种生物学功能中发挥关键作用。通过全基因组生物信息学分析,我们已经鉴定出拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)中 EAR 抑制组的完整组成,包括属于 21 个不同转录调节因子家族的 219 种蛋白质。这些蛋白质中约有 72%含有 LxLxL 型 EAR 基序,22%含有 DLNxxP 型 EAR 基序,其余 6%的蛋白质含有 LxLxL 和 DLNxxP 重叠的基序。发表的体外和体内研究支持其中约 40%的蛋白质作为基因表达的负调节剂发挥作用。EAR 基序位点和相邻区域的序列比较分析确定了其他可能影响 EAR 基序功能的优选残基和潜在的翻译后修饰位点。针对杨树(Populus trichocarpa)、葡萄(Vitis vinifera)、水稻(Oryza sativa)和高粱(Sorghum bicolor)蛋白质数据库的同源性搜索表明,EAR 基序在这些不同的植物物种中是保守的。这项全基因组分析是迄今为止对拟南芥中含 EAR 基序蛋白最广泛的调查,为研究它们的生物学功能和 EAR 基序介导的转录调控机制提供了资源。