title: SPOROCYTELESS is a novel embryophyte-specific transcription repressor that interacts with TPL and TCP proteins in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Germlines in plants are formed de novo during post-embryonic development, while little is known about the mechanism that controls this process. In Arabidopsis, the earliest gene controlling this process is SPOROCYTELESS (SPL). A decade ago, we showed that loss of SPL function abolished sporogenesis in both male and female organs of Arabidopsis. However, its function is unclear up to now. In this study, we showed that SPL belongs to a novel transcription repressor family specific in embryophyte, which consists of 173 members in the land plants so far. All of them contain a conserved SPL-motif in their N-terminal and an ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motif in the C-terminal, therefore designated as SPL-like, EAR-containing proteins (SPEARs). Consistently, SPL acts as a transcriptional repressor in yeast and tobacco cells, and SPEAR proteins are able to form homodimer and/or heterodimer with each other in vitro. Furthermore, SPEARs interact with the TOPLESS (TPL) co-repressors via the EAR motif and TCP family transcription factors in yeast cells. Together, we propose that SPL and SPEARs most likely belong to a novel transcription repressor family in land plants which may play a variety of developmental roles in plants.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Hui
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Man
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: wcyang@genetics.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wei-Cai
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011485:Protein Binding; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C416221:SPL protein, Arabidopsis; C560908:TCP4 protein, Arabidopsis; C511291:At1g15750 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: Arabidopsis; Germline specification; SPL; Sporogenesis; Transcription repressor