Liu Ling, Yahaya Baba Salifu, Li Jing, Wu Fengkai
Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, China.
Maize Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, Sichuan, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2024 Jun 10;15:1398818. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1398818. eCollection 2024.
Abiotic and biotic stresses globally constrain plant growth and impede the optimization of crop productivity. The phytohormone auxin is involved in nearly every aspect of plant development. Auxin acts as a chemical messenger that influences gene expression through a short nuclear pathway, mediated by a family of specific DNA-binding transcription factors known as Auxin Response Factors (ARFs). ARFs thus act as effectors of auxin response and translate chemical signals into the regulation of auxin responsive genes. Since the initial discovery of the first ARF in Arabidopsis, advancements in genetics, biochemistry, genomics, and structural biology have facilitated the development of models elucidating ARF action and their contributions to generating specific auxin responses. Yet, significant gaps persist in our understanding of ARF transcription factors despite these endeavors. Unraveling the functional roles of ARFs in regulating stress response, alongside elucidating their genetic and molecular mechanisms, is still in its nascent phase. Here, we review recent research outcomes on ARFs, detailing their involvement in regulating leaf, flower, and root organogenesis and development, as well as stress responses and their corresponding regulatory mechanisms: including gene expression patterns, functional characterization, transcriptional, post-transcriptional and post- translational regulation across diverse stress conditions. Furthermore, we delineate unresolved questions and forthcoming challenges in ARF research.
非生物和生物胁迫在全球范围内限制了植物生长，并阻碍了作物生产力的优化。植物激素生长素几乎参与植物发育的各个方面。生长素作为一种化学信使，通过一条短的核途径影响基因表达，该途径由一类称为生长素反应因子（ARFs）的特定DNA结合转录因子介导。因此，ARFs作为生长素反应的效应器，将化学信号转化为对生长素反应基因的调控。自拟南芥中首个ARF被首次发现以来，遗传学、生物化学、基因组学和结构生物学的进展推动了阐明ARF作用及其对产生特定生长素反应贡献的模型的发展。然而，尽管有这些努力，我们对ARF转录因子的理解仍存在重大差距。揭示ARFs在调节胁迫反应中的功能作用，以及阐明其遗传和分子机制，仍处于起步阶段。在这里，我们综述了关于ARFs的最新研究成果，详细阐述了它们在调节叶、花和根器官发生与发育中的作用，以及胁迫反应及其相应的调控机制：包括不同胁迫条件下的基因表达模式、功能表征、转录、转录后和翻译后调控。此外，我们还阐述了ARF研究中尚未解决的问题和即将面临的挑战。
