Computational identification of transcriptional regulatory elements in Arabidopsis TCH4 promoter

Abstract

Arabidopsis TCH4 gene plays an important role in the biological processes related to plant secondary growth, resistance to pathogen, and adaptation to environmental stresses. It is up-regulated by various hormonal, environmental, and mechanical stimuli. Here, we identified 9 transcriptional regulatory elements from TCH4 promoter by bioinformatics approach. In which, 4 elements have been reported previously, and 5 elements are newly identified in this study. All of the identified elements contain the sequences of known cis-elements. Especially, their distribution along some co-expressed gene promoters and the orthologous promoters is typically clustered and syntenic. Based on our predictions and the information of known cis-elements, a model representing the transcriptional regulation mechanism was proposed for TCH4 gene in response to hormonal, mechanical, and environmental stimuli.