Increased vegetative development and sturdiness of storekeeper-transgenic tobacco

Abstract

The STOREKEEPER (STK) family of DNA-binding proteins work as transcription factors and the ectopic expression of two stk-like genes from Arabidopsis thaliana, stk01 (At1g61730) and stk03 (At4g00238), in tobacco increased the number of vegetative internodes and promoted plant and leaf size, stem diameter and sturdiness. The development of these plants started with rosette formation while pronounced shoot elongation and flowering was delayed. Moreover, when the STK01 and STK03 proteins were fused to the Herpes Simplex Virus VP16 transcriptional activation domain and expressed in tobacco the vigorous storekeeper-phenotype did not appear indicating that transgenic STK-like proteins in part worked as repressors of tobacco reproductive development. Furthermore, Yeast Two-Hybrid screenings proved that STK01 and STK03 can form homodimers and heterodimers with further members of the STKlike family. Therefore, we assume that interactions between transgenic Arabidopsis STKs and re sident tobacco STKs could have contributed to the observed developmental changes in transgenic tobacco. Our findings open up promising applications for overexpression of stk-like genes in crops that benefit from increased sturdiness and vegetative organ development, such as tobacco in molecular farming approaches, biomass-based energy crops and medicinal plants that produce bioactive compounds in leaves

The complex becomes more complex: protein-protein interactions of SnRK1 with DUF581 family proteins provide a framework for cell- and stimulus type-specific SnRK1 signaling in plants

“…The founding member of this family of transcription factors has originally been described to regulate sucrose-inducible expression of patatin in potato tubers (Zourelidou et al, 2002 ). A recent study demonstrates that overexpression of an Arabidopsis storekeeper protein in tobacco prolongs the vegetative growth phase and delays flowering, suggesting a role for these proteins in the regulation of growth and developmental phasing (Bömer et al, 2011 ). The yeast two-hybrid data suggest that SnRK1 can interact with STKR1 independently of DUF581-18 in yeast and thus a mediator function of DUF581-18 would not be required for STKR1 to act as a substrate for SnRK1.…”

Comparative DNA Methylome of Phytoplasma Associated Retrograde Metamorphosis in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

“…The production of rosettes was the first step in the development of these plants, which was followed by a delay in shoot elongation and flowering. Yeast Two-Hybrid screens also revealed that STK01 and STK03 can form homodimers and heterodimers with other STK-related proteins [ 39 ]. The hypomethylation of such an important gene upon phytoplasma infection suggests its role in causing similar exaggerated symptoms in sesame.…”

Evolution and Diversification of FRUITFULL Genes in Solanaceae

“…Predicted STK binding sites are only found in the promoters of potato FUL1 , tomato FUL2 and woodland tobacco MBP10. STK and STK-like proteins appear to function in storage protein synthesis, glucose reception, and vegetative and reproductive development (Zourelidou et al, 2002; Curaba et al, 2003; Bömer et al, 2011; Chung et al, 2016; Nietzsche et al, 2017). Meanwhile, the 2 kb upstream region of FUL2 contains a putative site for EIN3.…”