Characterization of a nitrate-inducible transcriptional repressor NIGT1 provides new insights into DNA recognition by the GARP family proteins

Abstract

The GARP domain is a single Myb-related DNA-binding domain found in plant transcription factors. Proteins containing the GARP domain (GARP family proteins) are suggested to be involved in the regulation of various physiological processes through their interactions with ostensibly different DNA sequences. Our recent study on a nitrate-inducible gene encoding a GARP family protein, referred to as NIGT1 (Nitrate-Inducible, GARP-type Transcriptional Repressor 1), not only suggests a previously unidentified role for the GARP family proteins in higher plants but also provides a hypothesis for why NIGT1 can show dual specificity on DNA binding and why respective GARP family proteins can recognize very different DNA sequences.

Keywords: :

• GARP transcription factor
• dual DNA recognition
• DNA binding specificity
• nitrate induction

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Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by KAKENHI (22380043) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (21114004) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT).