Plant Cell Reports

, Volume 34, Issue 9, pp 1569–1578 | Cite as

Molecular characterization of HbCZF1, a Hevea brasiliensis CCCH-type zinc finger protein that regulates hmg1

  • Dong Guo
  • Hong-Yan Yi
  • Hui-Liang Li
  • Chen Liu
  • Zi-Ping Yang
  • Shi-Qing Peng
Original Paper
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Key message

The HbCZF1 protein binds to the hmg1 promoter in yeast and this interaction was confirmed in vitro. The hmg1 promoter was activated in transgenic plants by HbCZF1.

Abstract

Biosynthesis of natural rubber is known to be based on the mevalonate pathway in Hevea brasiliensis. The final step in the mevalonate production is catalyzed by the branch point enzyme, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), which shunts HMG-CoA into the isoprenoid pathway, leading to the synthesis of natural rubber. However, molecular regulation of HMGR expression is not known. To study the transcriptional regulation of HMGR, the yeast one-hybrid experiment was performed to screen the latex cDNA library using the hmg1 (one of the three HMGR in H. brasiliensis) promoter as bait. One cDNA that encodes the CCCH-type zinc finger protein, designated as HbCZF1, was isolated from H. brasiliensis. HbCZF1 interacted with the hmg1 promoter in yeast one-hybrid system and in vitro. HbCZF1 contains a 1110 bp open reading frame that encodes 369 amino acids. The deduced HbCZF1 protein was predicted to possess a typical C-X7-C-X5-C3-H CCCH motif and RNA recognition motif. HbCZF1 was predominant in the latex, but little expression was detected in the leaves, barks, and roots. Furthermore, in transgenic tobacco plants, over-expression of HbCZF1 highly activated the hmg1 promoter. These results suggested that HbCZF1 may participate in the regulation of natural rubber biosynthesis in H. brasiliensis.

Keywords

3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase CCCH-type zinc finger protein Hevea brasiliensis Promoter Natural rubber biosynthesis 

Abbreviations

AbA

Aureobasidin A

ANOVA

Analysis of variance

GUS

β-Glucuronidase

ET

Ethrel

GFP

Green fluorescent protein

HMGR

3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase

EMSA

Electrophoretic mobility shift assay

GST

Glutathione S-transferase

MeJA

Methyl jasmonate

MVA

Mevalonate

NR

Natural rubber

ORF

Open reading frame

qPCR

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction

RT-PCR

Reverse transcription

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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31170285) and the Major Technology Project of Hainan (ZDZX2013023-1).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Dong Guo
    • 1
  • Hong-Yan Yi
    • 1
    • 2
  • Hui-Liang Li
    • 1
  • Chen Liu
    • 1
    • 2
  • Zi-Ping Yang
    • 1
    • 2
  • Shi-Qing Peng
    • 1
  1. 1.Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and BiotechnologyChinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural SciencesHaikouChina
  2. 2.College of AgricultureHainan UniversityHaikouChina

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