Towards an Understanding of Plant Gene Regulation: The Action of Nuclear Factors

Abstract

Over the last decade an intensive research on the regulation of gene expression in viral and animal systems has led to the discovery of cis-acting regulatory sequences, the identification of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins (trans-acting factors), the characterization of protein domains involved in DNA-protein recognition and binding as well as in protein-protein interactions, and the cloning and sequencing of genes encoding regulatory proteins. The tremendous progress in this field is now being complemented by advances in our understanding of how plant genes are regulated. A wealth of data has accumulated in the past few years witnessing basic similarities in the transcriptional regulation of various eukaryotic genes, but also specific features of plant genes. This article collects presently available data, focusses on DNA-protein interactions in plant genes, particularly in light-regulated and “constitutively express-ed” genes, reports on the isolation of plant genes encoding regulatory proteins, and is meant to induce further activities in plant gene research. © 1991, Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung. All rights reserved.