Functional Characterization of the Maize Phytochrome-Interacting Factors PIF4 and PIF5

Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) play important roles in photomorphogenesis, the shade avoidance response, and other aspects of plant growth and development. PIF family proteins have been well-studied in , but little is known about their physiological functions and molecular mechanisms in maiz...

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Published inFrontiers in plant science Vol. 8; p. 2273
Main Authors Shi, Qingbiao, Zhang, Haisen, Song, Xiaoyi, Jiang, Yu'e, Liang, Ran, Li, Gang
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 18.01.2018
Subjects
maize
photomorphogenesis
phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs)
Plant Science
shade avoidance response
ZmPIF4
ZmPIF5
shade avoidance response
ZmPIF5
photomorphogenesis
ZmPIF4
phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs)
maize
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Summary:Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) play important roles in photomorphogenesis, the shade avoidance response, and other aspects of plant growth and development. PIF family proteins have been well-studied in , but little is known about their physiological functions and molecular mechanisms in maize ( ). In this study, we investigated the physiological functions of and , two highly conserved members of the gene family. RT-qPCR and western blot analyses revealed that and expression and ZmPIF4 and ZmPIF5 levels peak at night and remain low during the day. Overexpression of and in partially rescued the reduced hypocotyl elongation and defective response to gravity in quadruple mutants ( ). In addition, under high red: far-red light conditions, lines overexpressing exhibited a constitutive shade avoidance response, including early flowering, slender leaves and inflorescences, plant lodging and precocious leaf senescence. Furthermore, ZmPIF4 physically interacted with the DELLA protein REPRESSOR OF GA1-3 (RGA), indicating a potential interaction between ZmPIF4 and gibberellin signaling pathway on plant growth. Taken together, our results revealed that ZmPIF4 and ZmPIF5 are functionally conserved proteins that may play conserved roles in the response to phytochrome signaling in plants. In this study, the functions of ZmPIF4 and ZmPIF5 were characterized by expression in , revealing conserved roles of PIF family proteins in photomorphogenesis and the shade avoidance response in land plants.
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This article was submitted to Plant Physiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science
Reviewed by: Shangwei Zhong, Peking University, China; Hsu-Liang Hsieh, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; Enamul Huq, University of Texas at Austin, United States
These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Edited by: Daoxin Xie, Tsinghua University, China
ISSN:1664-462X
1664-462X
DOI:10.3389/fpls.2017.02273