The Characterization of a Novel PrMADS11 Transcription Factor from Induced Early in Bent Pine Stem.

A novel MADS-box transcription factor from D. Don was characterized. encodes a protein of 165 amino acids for a MADS-box transcription factor belonging to group II, related to the MIKC protein structure. was differentially expressed in the stems of pine trees in response to 45° inclination at early times (1 h) was stably transformed with a construct in an effort to identify the putative targets of . A massive transcriptome analysis revealed 947 differentially expressed genes: 498 genes were up-regulated, and 449 genes were down-regulated due to the over-expression of . The gene ontology analysis highlighted a cell wall remodeling function among the differentially expressed genes, suggesting the active participation of cell wall modification required during the response to vertical stem loss. In addition, the phenylpropanoid pathway was also indicated as a target, displaying a marked increment in the expression of the genes driven to the biosynthesis of monolignols. The EMSA assays confirmed that PrMADS11 interacts with CArG-box sequences. This TF modulates the gene expression of several molecular pathways, including other TFs, as well as the genes involved in cell wall remodeling. The increment in the lignin content and the genes involved in cell wall dynamics could be an indication of the key role of PrMADS11 in the response to trunk inclination.