title: Phytochrome Interacting Factors: central players in phytochrome-mediated light signaling networks.
abstract: To adapt to the surrounding environment, plants constantly monitor and respond to changes in the red and far-red regions of the light spectrum through the phytochrome family of photoreceptors. Extensive efforts using genetic, molecular and photobiological techniques have led to the identification of a group of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors called the Phytochrome Interacting Factors, PIFs, which directly bind to the photoactivated phytochromes. Members of the PIF family have been shown to control light-regulated gene expression directly and indirectly. PIF1, PIF3, PIF4 and PIF5 are degraded in response to light signals, and physical interaction of PIF3 with phytochromes is necessary for the light-induced phosphorylation and degradation of PIF3. PIFs constitute an excellent model for the investigation of the biochemical mechanisms of signal transfer from photoactivated phytochromes and the light-regulation of gene expression that controls photomorphogenesis in plants.
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology and The Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castillon
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology and The Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology and The Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: huq@mail.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Enamul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huq
mesh_terms: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D010834:Phytochrome / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena / Q000528:radiation effects*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D018514:Plant Structures / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D010834:Phytochrome; D010940:Plant Proteins