title: The Arabidopsis ZINC FINGER PROTEIN3 Interferes with Abscisic Acid and Light Signaling in Seed Germination and Plant Development.
abstract: Seed germination is controlled by environmental signals, including light and endogenous phytohormones. Abscisic acid (ABA) inhibits, whereas gibberellin promotes, germination and early seedling development, respectively. Here, we report that ZFP3, a nuclear C2H2 zinc finger protein, acts as a negative regulator of ABA suppression of seed germination in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Accordingly, regulated overexpression of ZFP3 and the closely related ZFP1, ZFP4, ZFP6, and ZFP7 zinc finger factors confers ABA insensitivity to seed germination, while the zfp3 zfp4 double mutant displays enhanced ABA susceptibility. Reduced expression of several ABA-induced genes, such as RESPONSIVE TO ABSCISIC ACID18 and transcription factor ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE4 (ABI4), in ZFP3 overexpression seedlings suggests that ZFP3 negatively regulates ABA signaling. Analysis of ZFP3 overexpression plants revealed multiple phenotypic alterations, such as semidwarf growth habit, defects in fertility, and enhanced sensitivity of hypocotyl elongation to red but not to far-red or blue light. Analysis of genetic interactions with phytochrome and abi mutants indicates that ZFP3 enhances red light signaling by photoreceptors other than phytochrome A and additively increases ABA insensitivity conferred by the abi2, abi4, and abi5 mutations. These data support the conclusion that ZFP3 and the related ZFP subfamily of zinc finger factors regulate light and ABA responses during germination and early seedling development.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: Mary Prathiba
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papdi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kozma-Bognár
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: István
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Carbonell
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rigó
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.).
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koncz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Centre, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary (M.P.J., C.P., L.K.-B., I.N., G.R., C.K., L.S.);Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain (M.L.-C.);Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, 50829 Cologne, Germany (C.K.); andRoyal Holloway, University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (C.P.) szabados@brc.hu.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Szabados