Abstract
Arabidopsis contains 14 AP2-type transcription factors (TFs), which include important regulators of development, such as APETALA2 (AP2), a class A homeotic TF for floral organ development, TARGET OF EAT1 (TOE1), a flowering repressor, AINTEGMENTA (ANT) involved in ovule development, BABY BOOMER (BBM) involved in embryo development, and PLETHORA1, 2 (PLT1, 2) for the establishment of root apical meristem. Although the DNA binding site sequence of ANT has been described, direct targets have not been established for these AP2-type TFs. We have previously shown that WRINKLED1/ASML1 (WRI1), an AP2-type activator essential for seed oil accumulation, binds to a sequence conserved among many genes involved in fatty acid synthesis in plastids. We used random oligonucleotide selection method to identify and compare consensus binding site DNA sequences of 7 AP2-type TFs, and identified roles of each AP2 DNA-binding domains in the recognition of target site sequences.
