Shared functions of plant and mammalian StAR-related lipid transfer (START) domains in modulating transcription factor activity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR)-related lipid transfer (START) domains were first identified from mammalian proteins that bind lipid/sterol ligands via a hydrophobic pocket. In plants, predicted START domains are predominantly found in homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factors that are master regulators of cell-type differentiation in development. Here we utilized studies of Arabidopsis in parallel with heterologous expression of START domains in yeast to investigate the hypothesis that START domains are versatile ligand-binding motifs that can modulate transcription factor activity.

Results

Our results show that deletion of the START domain from Arabidopsis Glabra2 (GL2), a representative HD-Zip transcription factor involved in diffe

SUBMITTER: Schrick K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4169639 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature