Emerging Roles of Plant DNA-Binding With One Finger Transcription Factors in Various Hormone and Stress Signaling Pathways

Zemin Wang; Darren Chern Jan Wong; Zhengliang Chen; Wei Bai; Huaijun Si; Xin Jin

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.844201

Emerging Roles of Plant DNA-Binding With One Finger Transcription Factors in Various Hormone and Stress Signaling Pathways

Front Plant Sci. 2022 May 13:13:844201. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.844201. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zemin Wang^{1

2}, Darren Chern Jan Wong³, Zhengliang Chen², Wei Bai², Huaijun Si^{1

2}, Xin Jin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
² College of Life Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
³ Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia.

Abstract

Coordinated transcriptional regulation of stress-responsive genes orchestrated by a complex network of transcription factors (TFs) and the reprogramming of metabolism ensure a plant's continued growth and survival under adverse environmental conditions (e.g., abiotic stress). DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) proteins, a group of plant-specific TF, were identified as one of several key components of the transcriptional regulatory network involved in abiotic stress responses. In many plant species, Dofs are often activated in response to a wide range of adverse environmental conditions. Dofs play central roles in stress tolerance by regulating the expression of stress-responsive genes via the DOFCORE element or by interacting with other regulatory proteins. Moreover, Dofs act as a key regulatory hub of several phytohormone pathways, integrating abscisic acid, jasmonate, SA and redox signaling in response to many abiotic stresses. Taken together, we highlight a unique role of Dofs in hormone and stress signaling that integrates plant response to adverse environmental conditions with different aspects of plant growth and development.

Keywords: Dof; abiotic stresses; hormonal signaling; transcription factor; transcriptional regulation.