A reevaluation of the role of the ASIL trihelix transcription factors as repressors of the seed maturation program

Abstract

Developmental transitions are typically tightly controlled at the transcriptional level. Two of these transitions involve the induction of the embryo maturation program midway through seed development and its repression during the vegetative phase of plant growth. Very little is known about the factors responsible for this regulation during early embryogenesis, and only a couple of transcription factors have been characterized as repressors during the postgerminative phase. Arabidopsis 6b‐INTERACTING PROTEIN‐LIKE1 (ASIL1), a trihelix transcription factor, has been proposed to repress maturation both embryonically and postembryonically. Preliminary data also suggested that its closest paralog, ASIL2, might play a role as well. We used a transcriptomic approach, coupled with phenotypical observations, to test the hypothesis that ASIL1 and ASIL2 redundantly turn off maturation during both phases of growth. Our results indicate that, contrary to what was previously published, neither of the ASIL genes plays a role in the regulation of maturation, at any point during plant development. Analyses of gene ontology (GO)‐enriched terms and published transcriptomic datasets suggest that these genes might be involved in responses during the vegetative phase to certain biotic and abiotic stresses.

Transcriptomics reveal useful resources for examining fruit development and variation in fruit size in Coccinia grandis

“…ASIL2 is a transcription factors belonging to the trihelix DNA binding protein family. Role of ASIL in fruit development is not yet reported, however it has been reported to have role in seed maturation and vegetative growth ( Hussain et al., 2020 ; Ruiz et al., 2021 ). In the present study, ASIL 2 is downregulated in all the developmental stages of ANSa, and therefore, can be considered to have higher expression in ANKu, which suggests its role in elongation of fruit by some unknown mechanism.…”

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the trihelix transcription factor family in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) under abiotic stress

“…The trihelix gene family plays an important role in the regulation of plant light response [ 34 ], leaf development [ 35 ], stomatal regulation [ 36 ], seed development [ 13 , 37 , 38 ], and biotic and abiotic stress responses [ 39 , 40 ]. In recent years, the trihelix transcription factor family has already been identified in many plants, and its functions have also been investigated [ 19 ].…”