Identification of Specific DNA Binding Residues in the TCP Family of Transcription Factors in Arabidopsis

Aggarwal, P and Dasgupta, M and Joseph, AP and Chatterjee, N and Srinivasan, N and Nath, U (2010) Identification of Specific DNA Binding Residues in the TCP Family of Transcription Factors in Arabidopsis. In: Plant Cell Online, The, 22 (4). pp. 1174-1189.

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Abstract

The TCP transcription factors control multiple developmental traits in diverse plant species. Members of this family share an similar to 60-residue-long TCP domain that binds to DNA. The TCP domain is predicted to form a basic helix-loop-helix ( bHLH) structure but shares little sequence similarity with canonical bHLH domain. This classifies the TCP domain as a novel class of DNA binding domain specific to the plant kingdom. Little is known about how the TCP domain interacts with its target DNA. We report biochemical characterization and DNA binding properties of a TCP member in Arabidopsis thaliana, TCP4. We have shown that the 58-residue domain of TCP4 is essential and sufficient for binding to DNA and possesses DNA binding parameters comparable to canonical bHLH proteins. Using a yeast-based random mutagenesis screen and site-directed mutants, we identified the residues important for DNA binding and dimer formation. Mutants defective in binding and dimerization failed to rescue the phenotype of an Arabidopsis line lacking the endogenous TCP4 activity. By combining structure prediction, functional characterization of the mutants, and molecular modeling, we suggest a possible DNA binding mechanism for this class of transcription factors.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Plant Cell Online, The
Publisher:	American Society of Plant Biologists
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to American Society of Plant Biologists.
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit Division of Biological Sciences > Microbiology & Cell Biology
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2010 09:35
Last Modified:	05 Mar 2019 06:29
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/28937

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