Abstract
Flower development is the core of higher-plant ontogenesis and is controlled by complex gene regulatory networks. Cys2/His2 zinc-finger proteins (C2H2-ZFPs) constitute one of the largest transcription factor families and are highly involved in transcriptional regulation of flowering induction, floral organ morphogenesis, and pollen and pistil maturation. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanism of C2H2-ZFPs has been gradually revealed only in recent years. During flowering induction, C2H2-ZFPs can modify the chromatin of FLOWERING LOCUS C, thereby providing additional insights into the quantification of transcriptional regulation caused by chromatin regulation. C2H2-ZFPs are involved in cell division and proliferation in floral organ development and are associated with hormonal regulation, thereby revealing how a flower is partitioned into four developmentally distinct whorls. The studies reviewed in this work integrate the information from the endogenous, hormonal, and environmental regulation of flower development. The structure of C2H2-ZFPs determines their function as transcriptional regulators. The findings indicate that C2H2-ZFPs play a crucial role in flower development. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the structure, expression, and function of C2H2-ZFPs and discuss their molecular mechanism in flower development.
Highlights
Plants undergo two major postembryonic developmental transitions: infancy to adulthood, and adulthood to reproduction
JAG can directly inhibit the expression of PETAL LOSS (PTL), which encodes a transcription factor that acts on the upstream of auxin signals that initiate petal development
The results of the discussed studies show that C2H2-ZFPs are highly involved in flowering induction, floral organ morphogenesis, and maturation, and consolidate the available information on flower development process
Summary
Plants undergo two major postembryonic developmental transitions: infancy to adulthood, and adulthood to reproduction. Three flowering-time genes, namely, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CO 1 (SOC1), and FLOWERING LOCUS D, can be regulated directly by FLC [2,3,4,5] These molecules serve as effector genes of the floral organ for activating or inhibiting the expression of the downstream floral meristem (FM) and floral identity genes [6]. Recent studies have demonstrated that transcriptional regulators containing MYB, zinc-finger (ZF), basic helix–loop–helix, MADS, and other DNA-binding domains perform a number of functions that were originally attributed to floral organ identity factors [11,12,13,14]. A comprehensive review of the findings on C2H2-ZFPs in flower development will facilitate a better understanding of the formation process of plant flowers and a projection of potential future developments in this field
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