Functional analysis of the HD-Zip transcription factor genes Oshox12 and Oshox14 in rice

Jingxia Shao, Imran Haider, Lizhong Xiong, Xiaoyi Zhu, Rana Muhammad Fraz Hussain, Elin Övernäs, Annemarie H. Meijer, Gaisheng Zhang, Mei Wang, Harro J. Bouwmeester, Pieter B.F. Ouwerkerk*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factor family plays vital roles in plant development and morphogenesis as well as responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In barley, a recessive mutation in Vrs1 (HvHox1) changes two-rowed barley to six-rowed barley, which improves yield considerably. The Vrs1 gene encodes an HD-Zip subfamily I transcription factor. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the rice HD-Zip I genes Oshox12 and Oshox14 are the closest homologues of Vrs1. Here, we show that Oshox12 and Oshox14 are ubiquitously expressed with higher levels in developing panicles. Trans-activation assays in yeast and rice protoplasts demonstrated that Oshox12 and Oshox14 can bind to a specific DNA sequence, AH1 (CAAT(A/T)ATTG), and activate reporter gene expression. Overexpression of Oshox12 and Oshox14 in rice resulted in reduced panicle length and a dwarf phenotype. In addition, Oshox14 overexpression lines showed a deficiency in panicle exsertion. Our findings suggest that Oshox12 and Oshox14 may be involved in the regulation of panicle development. This study provides a significant advancement in understanding the functions of HD-Zip transcription factors in rice.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0199248
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume13
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jul 2018

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