Sugar and ABA response pathways and the control of gene expression.
Sugars are essential to plant growth and metabolism, both as energy source and as structural components. Sugar production and use are in part controlled at the level of gene expression by the sugars themselves. Responses to sugar are closely integrated with response pathways that indicate environmental conditions such as light and water availability. High sugar levels inhibit seedling development, repress photosynthetic gene expression and induce genes of storage metabolism such as those of starch biosynthesis. Genetic approaches have demonstrated the importance of abscisic acid (ABA) and the transcriptional regulator ABA-insensitive4 (ABI4) in sugar response pathways. Recent analysis of both photosynthetic and starch biosynthetic gene promoters suggest a direct role for ABI4 in their control. The increased understanding of the regulatory promoter elements controlling gene expression, in response to sugar and ABA, allows transcriptional networks to be understood at a molecular level.
Rook
Fred
F
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. Fred.Rook@bbsrc.ac.uk
Hadingham
Sophie A
SA
Li
Yunhai
Y
Bevan
Michael W
MW
D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008027:Light; D009154:Mutation; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
C470421:ABI4 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000040:Abscisic Acid