Function and Identification of Mobile Transcription Factors

Abstract

Growth and development of multi-cellular organisms require mechanisms that allow for extensive cell-to-cell communication. In some incidences communication is established by signaling molecules that are directly transported from one cell to the other. These mobile signals in plants have been found in forms of proteins, RNAs, and small molecules. They are transmitted through the vascular system in a long distance (between organs), or through plasmodesmata in a short distance (between cell types). A growing number of studies show that transcription factors contribute as important mobile signals in plants. Transcription factors move in a short or long distance in forms of proteins and RNAs. Such transport activities are very important for patterning and growth of plant organs and tissues. In this chapter, we will comprehensively review transcription factors as mobile signals: factors that have been discovered, mechanisms of their mobility, new tools that will lead to the discovery of mobile transcription factors, and putative mobile transcription factors inferred from cell-type specific RNA profiling data.