A group of nuclear factor Y transcription factors are likely sub-functionalized in the endosperm development of rice and other monocots

E, Z.; Li, T.; Zhang, H.; Liu, Z.; Deng, H.; Wang, L.; Wei, X.; Niu, B.; Chen, C.

doi:10.1101/149047

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/149047

A group of nuclear factor Y transcription factors are likely sub-functionalized in the endosperm development of rice and other monocots

E, Z.·Li, T.·Zhang, H.·Liu, Z.·Deng, H.·Wang, L.·Wei, X.·Niu, B.·Chen, C.

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Abstract

Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a heterotrimeric transcription factor that consists of three subunits, NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC. Although NF-Ys play multiple roles in plant development, their functions during endosperm development are not well understood. In this study, we identified eight NF-Y encoding genes, including OsNF-YA8, OsNF-YB1,9, and OsNF-YC8,9,10,11,12, which predominantly express in the rice endosperm. Interestingly, the closest homologs of these OsNF-Ys are present only in the monocot species. All the genes are preferentially expressed in the endosperm, suggesting their roles in the regulation of endosperm development. A systemic analysis of the interactions between rice endosperm-preferential NF-Ys in yeast revealed that NF-YBs and NF-YCs could interact with each other. OsNF-YA8 is a recently evolved NF-YA in rice. Generally, NF-YA does not interact with NF-YB monomers in plants; however, in the present study, we found that OsNY-YA8 interacts with OsNF-YB9. Our results also indicated that the endosperm-preferential OsNF-YBs and OsNF-YCs could interact with some ethylene response factors (ERFs) of rice. Unlike the OsNF-YC8,9,10, the members of OsNF-YB1, 9 or OsNF-YC 11 and 12 showed lack of transcriptional activation when present alone. However, they displayed functional activity while in dimer form. In addition, OsNF-YB1 knockout lines showed significant changes in the seed morphology, further confirms its role in endosperm development. Our findings have provided strong evidences that the group of phylogenetically conserved NF-Ys are differentiated in monocots to regulate the endosperm development.

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E, Z., Li, T., Zhang, H., Liu, Z., Deng, H., Wang, L., Wei, X., Niu, B., Chen, C.. 2017-06-12. A group of nuclear factor Y transcription factors are likely sub-functionalized in the endosperm development of rice and other monocots. https://doi.org/10.1101/149047

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