Li Hui, Xiao Qianlin, Zhang Chunxia, Du Jia, Li Xiao, Huang Huanhuan, Wei Bin, Li Yangping, Yu Guowu, Liu Hanmei, Hu Yufeng, Liu Yinghong, Zhang Junjie, Huang Yubi
College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, Sichuan, China.
College of Life Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, China.
J Plant Physiol. 2017 Sep;216:11-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jplph.2017.04.016. Epub 2017 May 4.
Maize is an important food crop and industrial material owing to its high starch content. However, the mechanism of starch synthesis is not fully elucidated, especially with regard to the expression and regulation of starch synthetic genes. The APETALA2/Ethylene Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) family plays a crucial role in various biological processes via regulating gene expression. In this study, the ZmEREB94 gene was identified through co-expression analysis. Bioinformatics analysis confirmed that ZmEREB94 belongs to the AP2/ERF family. Expression pattern analysis showed that this protein is strongly expressed in the maize endosperm. A ZmEREB94-GFP fusion protein was localized in the nuclei of onion epidermal cells, and ZmEREB94 showed strong transcriptional activation activity, which indicated that this protein is a transcription factor. In addition, yeast-one hybrid assays and transient expression in maize endosperm showed that ZmEREB94 could directly bind to the ZmSSI promoter and indirectly regulate ZmSh2 and ZmGBSSI expression. Our results revealed that ZmEREB94 might act as a key regulator of starch synthesis in maize.
玉米因其高淀粉含量而成为重要的粮食作物和工业原料。然而，淀粉合成的机制尚未完全阐明，尤其是淀粉合成基因的表达和调控方面。APETALA2/乙烯响应因子（AP2/ERF）家族通过调控基因表达在各种生物学过程中发挥关键作用。在本研究中，通过共表达分析鉴定出ZmEREB94基因。生物信息学分析证实ZmEREB94属于AP2/ERF家族。表达模式分析表明该蛋白在玉米胚乳中强烈表达。ZmEREB94-GFP融合蛋白定位于洋葱表皮细胞的细胞核中，并且ZmEREB94表现出强大的转录激活活性，这表明该蛋白是一种转录因子。此外，酵母单杂交试验和在玉米胚乳中的瞬时表达表明ZmEREB94可以直接结合ZmSSI启动子并间接调控ZmSh2和ZmGBSSI的表达。我们的结果表明ZmEREB94可能是玉米淀粉合成的关键调节因子。
