Requirement of two simultaneous environmental signals for activation of Arabidopsis ELIP2 promoter in response to high light, cold, and UV-B stresses.

Arabidopsis EARLY LIGH-INDUCIBLE PROTEIN 2 (ELIP2) is a chlorophyll- and carotenoid-binding protein and is involved in photoprotection under stress conditions. Because its expression is induced through high light, cold, or UV-B stressors, its mechanism of induction has been studied. It is known that a functional unit found in the promoter, which is composed of Element B and Element A, is required and sufficient for full activation by these stressors. In this study, the role of each element in the unit was analyzed by introducing weak mutations in each element as synthetic promoters in addition to intensive repeat constructs of each single element. The results suggest that a stressor like cold stress generates two parallel signals in plant cells, and they merge at the promoter region for the activation of ELIP2 expression, which constitutes an "AND" gate and has a potential to realize strong response with high specificity by an environmental trigger.

Transcriptome Analysis and Identification of a Transcriptional Regulatory Network in the Response to H2O2.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a common signal molecule initiating transcriptional responses to all the known biotic and abiotic stresses of land plants. However, the degree of involvement of H2O2 in these stress responses has not yet been well studied. Here we identify time-dependent transcriptome profiles stimulated by H2O2 application in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings. Promoter prediction based on transcriptome data suggests strong crosstalk among high light, heat, and wounding stress responses in terms of environmental stresses and between the abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) responses in terms of phytohormone signaling. Quantitative analysis revealed that ABA accumulation is induced by H2O2 but SA is not, suggesting that the implied crosstalk with ABA is achieved through ABA accumulation while the crosstalk with SA is different. We identified potential direct regulatory pairs between regulator transcription factor (TF) proteins and their regulated TF genes based on the time-course transcriptome analysis for the H2O2 response, in vivo regulation of the regulated TF by the regulator TF identified by expression analysis of mutants and overexpressors, and in vitro binding of the regulator TF protein to the target TF promoter. These analyses enabled the establishment of part of the transcriptional regulatory network for the H2O2 response composed of 15 regulatory pairs of TFs, including five pairs previously reported. This regulatory network is suggested to be involved in a wide range of biotic and abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis.

Prediction of bipartite transcriptional regulatory elements using transcriptome data of Arabidopsis.

In our previous study, a methodology was established to predict transcriptional regulatory elements in promoter sequences using transcriptome data based on a frequency comparison of octamers. Some transcription factors, including the NAC family, cannot be covered by this method because their binding sequences have non-specific spacers in the middle of the two binding sites. In order to remove this blind spot in promoter prediction, we have extended our analysis by including bipartite octamers that are composed of '4 bases-a spacer with a flexible length-4 bases'. 8,044 pre-selected bipartite octamers, which had an overrepresentation of specific spacer lengths in promoter sequences and sequences related to core elements removed, were subjected to frequency comparison analysis. Prediction of ER stress-responsive elements in the BiP/BiPL promoter and an ANAC017 target sequence resulted in precise detection of true positives, judged by functional analyses of a reported article and our own in vitro protein-DNA binding assays. These results demonstrate that incorporation of bipartite octamers with continuous ones improves promoter prediction significantly.

The Responses of Arabidopsis Early Light-Induced Protein2 to Ultraviolet B, High Light, and Cold Stress Are Regulated by a Transcriptional Regulatory Unit Composed of Two Elements.

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Early Light-Induced Protein (ELIP) is thought to act as a photoprotectant, reducing the damaging effects of high light (HL). Expression of ELIP2 is activated by multiple environmental stresses related to photoinhibition. We have identified putative regulatory elements in an ELIP2 promoter using an octamer-based frequency comparison method, analyzed the role of these elements using synthetic promoters, and revealed a key transcriptional regulatory unit for ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation, HL, and cold stress responses. The unit is composed of two elements, designated as Elements A (TACACACC) and B (GGCCACGCCA), and shows functionality only when paired. Our genome-wide correlation analysis between possession of these elements in the promoter region and expression profiles in response to UV-B, HL, and cold suggests that Element B receives and integrates these multiple stress signals. In vitro protein-DNA binding assays revealed that LONG HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5), a basic domain-Leucine zipper transcription factor, directly binds to Element B. In addition, mutant analysis of HY5 showed partial involvement in the UV-B and HL responses but not in the cold stress response. These results suggest that signals for UV-B, HL, and cold stress join at Element B, which recognizes the signals of multiple transcription factors, including HY5.