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Molecular cloning and characterization of a gene that encodes a MYC-related protein in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

In plants, MYC-related proteins function as transcription factors involved in anthocyanin production and trichome development. We cloned a gene, Atmyc1, and its corresponding cDNA, that encodes for a MYC-related protein from Arabidopsis thaliana. The putative protein has a basic/helix-loop-helix motif at the C-terminus and a highly homologous region with that of the maize B/R family at the N-terminus. The promoter region of Atmyc1 contains a Sph box (CATGCATG) that is known as a cis-regulatory element conferring seed-specific expression. In fact, Atmyc1 transcripts were more abundant in developing seeds than in stems and leaves where trichomes are normally expressed. Restriction fragment length polymorphism mapping demonstrated that Atmyc1 is located on the upper region of chromosome 4, which clearly indicates that Atmyc1 is distinct from the ttg (transparent testa glabrous) locus that affects both trichome development and anthocyanin biosynthesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Resources Division, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Science (JIRCAS), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1-2 Oowashi, 305, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takeshi Urao & Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki

  2. Mitsui Plant Biotechnology Institute, 2-1-6 Sengen, 305, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Norihiro Mitsukawa & Daisuke Shibata

  3. Laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Tsukuba Life Science Center, 3-1-1 Koyadai, 305, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takeshi Urao, Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki & Kazuo Shinozaki

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  1. Takeshi Urao
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  2. Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki
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  3. Norihiro Mitsukawa
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  4. Daisuke Shibata
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  5. Kazuo Shinozaki
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Urao, T., Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, K., Mitsukawa, N. et al. Molecular cloning and characterization of a gene that encodes a MYC-related protein in Arabidopsis . Plant Mol Biol 32, 571–576 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00019112

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00019112

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