Could heat shock transcription factors function as hydrogen peroxide sensors in plants?
Miller G; Mittler R Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, Mail Stop 200, Reno, NV 89557, USA. BACKGROUND: Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) are modular transcription factors encoded by a large gene family in plants. They bind to the consensus sequence ‘nGAAnnTCCn’ found in the promoters of many defence genes, and are thought to function as a highly redundant and flexible gene network that controls the response of plants to different environmental stress conditions, including biotic and abiotic stresses. Hsf proteins encoded by different genes exhibit a high degree of complexity in their interactions. They can potentially bind and activate their own promoters, as well as the promoters of other members of their gene family, and they can form homo- or heterotrimers resulting in altered nuclear localization, as well as enhanced or suppressed transcription. SCOPE: In this review, we summarize recent studies on Hsf function in Arabidopsis and tomato an
