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The transcription factors ZmHSFTF28 and ZmDBB4 regulate the expression of plasma membrane auqaporins

Guyot, Joséphine
(2023)

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Guyot_55231800_2023.pdf
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Details

Supervisors
Chaumont, François
Faculty
Faculté des sciences
Degree label
Master [120] en biochimie et biologie moléculaire et cellulaire, à finalité approfondie
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays) is an important crop for food security and nutrition worldwide. Therefore, the study of this species is essential, especially with respect to the effects of abiotic stresses on this crop. Understanding the different stress responses of maize would facilitate efforts to improve crop resilience to environmental change. Aquaporins (AQPs) are small channel proteins that facilitate the diffusion of water and other small solutes across the cell membranes. Because of the important physiological roles, AQP genes and proteins are tightly regulated at multiple levels. This project focuses on the AQP regulation at the transcriptional level. In a genome-wide association study performed in the host laboratory, two transcription factors (TFs), ZmHSFTF28 and ZmDBB4, were statistically associated with variations in the expression of two AQP genes, ZmPIP1;6 and ZmPIP1;3, respectively. It has been reported that ZmHSFTF28 and ZmDBB4 respond to heat stress and intense light stress, respectively. In this work, we aimed to (i) confirm the detected interactions between the TFs and the AQP gene promoter using transactivation assays in maize protoplasts and (ii) determine the subcellular localization of ZmHSFTF28 and ZmDBB4 by fusing them with a fluorescent protein and transiently expressing them in maize protoplasts. We showed that expression of ZmHSFTF28 significantly increased the transcriptional activity of the ZmPIP1;6 promoter, whereas expression of ZmDBB4 significantly decreased the transcriptional activity of the ZmPIP1;3 promoter. Both TFs were predominantly localized in the protoplast nucleus. Overall, we demonstrated that ZmHSFTF28 and ZmDBB4 are two nuclear TFs that activate and repress, respectively, the expression of specific ZmPIP genes.