Abstract
Transcriptional repressors were recently proposed to play a key role in modulating the plant response and tolerance to abiotic stresses. A subset of these transcriptional repressors belongs to the C2H2-type zinc-finger gene family and contains an EAR repressor domain. To characterize the role of this type of proteins in the stress response and tolerance, we analyzed the function of Arabidopsis genes encoding two different C2H2-type zinc finger proteins (AZF1, AZF2). We generated transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring an AZF1/AZF2-GFP construct driven by AZF1- and AZF2-promoter. The AZF1- and AZF2-GFP proteins were detected in roots under normal growth conditions. Microarray analyses revealed that expression of many common genes was decreased in plants overexpressing AZF1 and AZF2 driven by a dexamethasone (DEX)-inducible promoter. Currently, we are performing transient gene expression assays using Arabidopsis protoplasts to identify downstream target genes of AZF1 and AZF2.