Science：研究发现NAC转录因子与远古时植物在陆地上的适应有关

野生型小立碗藓

据一项新的研究披露，在地球的早期植物生活完成从水至陆地的过渡之前，这些先驱植物必须要演化出用于传输水的专门细胞--而一组被称作NAC转录因子的特别蛋白可能在该发展中起着一种重要的作用。

Bo Xu及其同事知道，这些转录因子会作用于某些基因而产生陆地维管植物的专门化的往返输送水及支持植物茎秆的细胞。因此，研究人员将常见陆生植物拟南芥的基因组与被称作小立碗藓的苔藓的基因组进行了比较并发现，NAC转录因子在该苔藓中会作用于非常类似的基因以达到非常类似的目的。

他们说，在拟南芥中，这类蛋白负责监督木质组织的发育，而后者是输送水的组织。但是在小立碗藓中，该转录因子调控着螅体和坚实细胞的发育--它们分别是输送水及提供结构支持的专门化细胞。据研究人员披露，这些在基因调控及细胞功能上的相似性表明，NAC转录因子与远古时植物在陆地上的适应有关。

原文摘要：

Contribution of NAC Transcription Factors to Plant Adaptation to Land

Bo Xu, Misato Ohtani, Masatoshi Yamaguchi, Kiminori Toyooka, Mayumi Wakazaki, Mayuko Sato,Minoru Kubo, Yoshimi Nakano, Ryosuke Sano, Yuji Hiwatashi, Takashi Murata, Tetsuya Kurata,Arata Yoneda, Ko Kato, Mitsuyasu Hasebe, Taku Demura

The development of cells specialized for water conduction or support is a striking innovation of plants that has enabled them to colonize land. The NAC transcription factors regulate differentiation of these cells in vascular plants. However, the path by which plants with these cells have evolved from those of their non-vascular ancestors is unclear. We investigated genes of the moss Physcomitrella patens that encode NAC proteins. Loss-of-function mutants formed abnormal water-conducting and supporting cells, as well as malformed sporophyte cells, and overexpression induced ectopic differentiation of water-conducting-like cells. Our results show conservation of transcriptional regulation and cellular function between moss and Arabidopsis thaliana water-conducting cells. The conserved genetic basis suggests roles for NAC proteins in the adaptation of plants to land.

标签: 拟南芥 NAC转录因子 小立碗藓

作者：生物帮 点击：次

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