title: Analysis of the cell death-inducing ability of the ethylene response factors in group VIII of the AP2/ERF family.
abstract: The ethylene response factor (ERF) family is one of the largest families of plant-specific transcription factors. We have shown previously that the overexpression of the gene for NtERF3, a tobacco transcriptional repressor containing the ERF-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motif in the C-terminal region, induces hypersensitive reaction (HR)-like cell death. Many EAR motif-containing ERFs, including NtERF3, are clustered in group VIII of the ERF family. In this study, we aimed at revealing the cell death-inducing ability of group VIII ERFs and the correlation between ERFs and HR. The results showed that many of the EAR motif-containing ERFs classified into subgroup VIII-a of Arabidopsis, rice, and tobacco had cell death-inducing ability in tobacco leaves. Seven AtERFs in subgroup VIII-b did not induce cell death; however, some ERFs in subgroup VIII-b of rice and tobacco showed cell death-inducing ability. An expression analysis of group VIII ERFs in HR-inducing tobacco suggested that the cell death-inducing ability of NtERFs was not necessarily associated with induction of HR. In addition, it was revealed that the EAR motif-containing AtERFs in subgroup II-a also showed cell death-inducing ability. The influence of sequence variation in the EAR motif on the ability to induce cell death is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Gene Research Center, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: Yuma
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.forename: Mayuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tochigi
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsushita
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005810:Multigene Family; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005030:Ethylenes; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C036216:ethylene