As sessile organisms, plants have evolved unique patterns of growth and development, elaborate metabolism and special perception and signaling mechanisms to environmental cues. Likewise, plants have complex and highly special programs for transcriptional control of gene expression. A case study for the special transcription control in plants is the expansion of general transcription factors, particularly the family of Transcription Factor IIB (TFIIB)-like factors with 15 members in Arabidopsis. For more than a decade, molecular and genetic analysis has revealed important functions of these TFIIB-like factors in specific biological processes including gametogenesis, pollen tube growth guidance, embryogenesis, endosperm development, and plant-microbe interactions. The redundant, specialized, and diversified roles of these TFIIB-like factors challenge the traditional definition of general transcription factors established in other eukaryotes. In this review, we discuss general transcription factors in plants with a focus on the expansion and functional analysis of plant TFIIB-like proteins to highlight unique aspects of plant transcription programs that can be highly valuable for understanding the molecular basis of plant growth, development and responses to stress conditions.
Keywords: RNA polymerases; TFIIB; embryogenesis; endosperm development; plant reproduction; pollen growth; transcription; transcription factors.