DOF transcription factors: Specific regulators of plant biological processes

Abstract

Plant biological processes, such as growth and metabolism, hormone signal transduction, and stress responses, are affected by gene transcriptional regulation. As gene expression regulators, transcription factors activate or inhibit target gene transcription by directly binding to downstream promoter elements. DOF (DNA binding with One Finger) is a classic transcription factor family exclusive to plants that is characterized by its single zinc finger structure. With breakthroughs in taxonomic studies of different species in recent years, many DOF members have been reported to play vital roles throughout the plant life cycle. They are not only involved in regulating hormone signals and various biotic or abiotic stress responses but are also reported to regulate many plant biological processes, such as dormancy, tissue differentiation, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, and carbohydrate metabolism. Nevertheless, some outstanding issues remain. This article mainly reviews the origin and evolution, protein structure, and functions of DOF members reported in studies published in many fields to clarify the direction for future research on DOF transcription factors.

Identification of Dof transcription factors in Dendrobium huoshanense and expression pattern under abiotic stresses

“…This result was consistent with the other monocots, such as Z. mays , Brachypodium distachyon , Saccharum officinarum , etc. ( Zou and Sun, 2023 ).…”

CmDOF18 positively regulates salinity tolerance in Chrysanthemum morifolium by activating the oxidoreductase system

“…Several results have previously shown that DOF family members play important roles in resistance to various abiotic stresses in plants [ 6 , 13 , 47 – 51 ]. VyDOF8 expression is significantly induced by cold treatment, drought treatment, and salt treatment, and VyDOF8 -overexpressing tobacco shows enhanced drought tolerance due to increases in abscisic acid and promotion of stress-responsive gene expression [ 22 ].…”

Multifaceted roles of transcription factors during plant embryogenesis

“…TFs also modulate organogenesis such as leaf, shoot and root development, or even nodule development in the symbiotic relationship between legume and rhizobium ( Sluis and Hake, 2015 ; Tu et al., 2021 ; Chakraborty et al., 2022 ; Liu et al., 2022 ). Gene transcriptional regulation, facilitated by TFs, is essential in controlling numerous biological processes in plants, including signal transduction, stress and defense responses, as well as carbohydrate metabolism ( Seo and Choi, 2015 ; Hoang et al., 2017 ; Shahzad et al., 2021 ; Strader et al., 2022 ; Zou and Sun, 2023 ).…”