ETTIN (ARF3) physically interacts with KANADI proteins to form a functional complex essential for integument development and polarity determination in Arabidopsis

Development. 2012 Mar;139(6):1105-9. doi: 10.1242/dev.067918. Epub 2012 Feb 1.

Abstract

KANADI (KAN) transcription factors promote abaxial cell fate throughout plant development and are required for organ formation during embryo, leaf, carpel and ovule development. ABERRANT TESTA SHAPE (ATS, or KAN4) is necessary during ovule development to maintain the boundary between the two ovule integuments and to promote inner integument growth. Yeast two-hybrid assays identified ETTIN (ETT, or AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 3) as a transcription factor that could physically interact with ATS. ATS and ETT were shown to physically interact in vivo in transiently transformed tobacco epidermal cells using bimolecular fluorescence complementation. ATS and ETT were found to share an overlapping expression pattern during Arabidopsis ovule development and loss of either gene resulted in congenital fusion of the integuments and altered seed morphology. We hypothesize that in wild-type ovules a physical interaction between ATS and ETT allows these proteins to act in concert to define the boundary between integument primordia. We further show protein-protein interaction in yeast between ETT and KAN1, a paralog of ATS. Thus, a direct physical association between ETT and KAN proteins underpins their previously described common role in polarity establishment and organogenesis. We propose that ETT-KAN protein complex(es) constitute part of an auxin-dependent regulatory module that plays a conserved role in a variety of developmental contexts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / cytology
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / growth & development*
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Polarity
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genes, Plant
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism*
  • Ovule / growth & development
  • Seeds / cytology
  • Seeds / growth & development
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques
  • Yeasts / genetics

Substances

  • ATS proteins, Arabidopsis
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • ETT protein, Arabidopsis
  • KANADI protein, Arabidopsis
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Transcription Factors