Abstract
The maize INDETERMINATE1 gene, ID1, regulates the transition to flowering in Maize. ID1 encodes a protein including four zinc fingers and defines a gene family (IDD family) unique to plants. Among IDD families, a domain of about 200 amino acid residues including zinc fingers (ID domain) is highly conserved. Our previous biochemical studies showed that some IDD families bind to 11 bp of specific sequence via ID domain. The result suggests that IDD families are transcription factors.
Genome database analysis revealed that there are sixteen, fourteen, sixteen of IDD family genes in maize, rice and Arabidopsis, respectively. However, functions of all family genes except for ID1 of maize remain to be elucidated.
To clarify the functions of IDD family genes in Arabidopsis we analyzed expression profile of these family genes and also analyzed transgenic plants overexpressing these genes or RNAi plants that the expression of these genes are suppressed.
