Discovery of stress responsive TATA-box binding protein associated Factor6 (TAF6) from finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn)

• Published in: Journal of plant biology = Singmul Hakhoe chi 2017, 60(4), , pp.335-342
• Main Authors: Parvathi, M. S., Nataraja, Karaba N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Abiotic stress; Acclimation; Acclimatization; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cereal crops; Drought; Eleusine coracana; Gene expression; Gene silencing; Genomes; Genotypes; Initiation complex; Life Sciences; Millet; Ontology; Original Article; Oxidative stress; Phenotypes; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Ecology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant growth; Plant Sciences; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Plant tissues; Plants (botany); Proteins; Rice; RNA polymerase; Seedlings; TATA-binding protein; Transcription; Transcription factors; Tropical environment; Tropical environments; 생물학
• ISSN: 1226-9239; 1867-0725
• DOI: 10.1007/s12374-016-0574-6

Drought is one of the major abiotic factors affecting plant growth mainly in the tropical regions. During stress acclimation response, basal transcriptional process is critical which is coordinated by several cofactors, among which TATAbox Binding Protein (TBP) - Associated Factors (TAFs) are the major proteins involved in pre-initiation complex assembly. In search of novel transcriptional regulators, we identified one of the factors, TAF6 , in a drought cDNA library generated from an adapted crop, finger millet ( Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn). RTPCR analysis in leaf tissues of finger millet experiencing different levels of drought, revealed its stress responsiveness in three different genotypes. The gene is also induced under salt, osmotic and oxidative stresses at seedling stage. Analysis of its promoter in model plants indicated the presence of cis-elements associated with diverse stress responses. Down regulation of NbTAF6 by virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) approach resulted in a developmentally defective and stress sensitive phenotype in Nicotiana benthamiana . This is the first report on the up-regulation of EcTAF6 under abiotic stresses and the gene probably has a crucial role in safeguarding the stress related transcription process. The basal regulators like TAF6 can thus be considered as prospective candidates associated with stress acclimation in plants.