Biology subjects

Borba, A. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Borba, A. R..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

A transcription factor quartet orchestrating bundle sheath expression in rice

C4 photosynthesis has evolved in over sixty plant lineages and improves photosynthetic efficiency by [~]50%. One unifying character of C4 plants is photosynthetic activation of a compartment such as the bundle sheath, but gene regulatory networks controlling this cell type are poorly understood. In Arabidopsis a bipartite MYC-MYB transcription factor module restricts gene expression to these cells but in grasses the regulatory logic allowing bundle sheath gene expression has not been defined. Using the global staple and C3 crop rice we identified the SULFITE REDUCTASE promoter as sufficient for strong bundle sheath expression. This promoter encodes an intricate cis-regulatory logic with multiple activators and repressors acting combinatorially. Within this landscape we identified a distal enhancer activated by a quintet of transcription factors from the WRKY, G2-like, MYB-related, IDD and bZIP families. This module is necessary and sufficient to pattern gene expression to the rice bundle sheath. Oligomerisation of the enhancer and fusion to core promoters containing Y-patches allowed activity to be increased 220-fold. This enhancer generates bundle sheath-specific expression in Arabidopsis indicating deep conservation in function between monocotyledons and dicotyledons. In summary, we identify an ancient, short, and tuneable enhancer patterning expression to the bundle sheath that we anticipate will be useful for engineering this cell type in various crop species.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Synergistic binding of bHLH transcription factors to the promoter of the maize NADP-ME gene used in C4 photosynthesis is based on an ancient code found in the ancestral C3 state

C4 photosynthesis has evolved repeatedly from the ancestral C3 state to generate a carbon concentrating mechanism that increases photosynthetic efficiency. This specialised form of photosynthesis is particularly common in the PACMAD clade of grasses, and is used by many of the worlds most productive crops. The C4 cycle is accomplished through cell-type specific accumulation of enzymes but cis-elements and transcription factors controlling C4 photosynthesis remain largely unknown. Using the NADP-Malic Enzyme (NADP-ME) gene as a model we aimed to better understand molecular mechanisms associated with the evolution of C4 photosynthesis. Two basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) transcription factors, ZmbHLH128 and ZmbHLH129, were shown to bind the C4 NADP-ME promoter from maize. These proteins form heterodimers and ZmbHLH129 impairs trans-activation by ZmbHLH128. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicate that a pair of cis-elements separated by a seven base pair spacer synergistically bind either ZmbHLH128 or ZmbHLH129. This pair of cis-elements is found in both C3 and C4 species of the PACMAD clade. Our analysis is consistent with this cis-element pair originating from a single motif present in the ancestral C3 state. We conclude that C4 photosynthesis has co-opted an ancient C3 regulatory code built on G-box recognition by bHLH to regulate the NADP-ME gene. More broadly, our findings also contribute to the understanding of gene regulatory networks controlling C4 photosynthesis.

plant biology↗