title: Transcription regulation of abiotic stress responses in rice: a combined action of transcription factors and epigenetic mechanisms.
abstract: Plant growth and crop production are highly reduced by adverse environmental conditions and rice is particularly sensitive to abiotic stresses. Plants have developed a number of different mechanisms to respond and try to adapt to abiotic stress. Plant response to stress such as drought, cold, and high salinity, implies rapid and coordinated changes at transcriptional level of entire gene networks. During the last decade many transcription factors, belonging to different families, have been shown to act as positive or negative regulators of stress responsive genes, thus playing an extremely important role in stress signaling. More recently, epigenetic mechanisms have been also involved in the regulation of the stress responsive genes. In this review, we have performed a comprehensive analysis of the rice transcription factors reported so far as being involved in abiotic stress responses. The impact of abiotic stresses on epigenomes is also addressed. Finally, we update the connections made so far between DNA-binding transcription factors (TFs), and epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation and histones methylation or acetylation) emphasizing an integrative view of transcription regulation.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras. Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Tânia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.forename: Duarte D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: Tiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lourenço
authors.forename: Subhash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chander
authors.forename: Maria Margarida
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Nelson J M
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Saibo
mesh_terms: D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D014157:Transcription Factors