TY - JOUR T1 - A stele-enriched gene regulatory network in the Arabidopsis root. JF - Mol Syst Biol Y1 - 2011 A1 - Brady, Siobhan M A1 - Zhang, Lifang A1 - Megraw, Molly A1 - Martinez, Natalia J A1 - Jiang, Eric A1 - Yi, Charles S A1 - Liu, Weilin A1 - Zeng, Anna A1 - Taylor-Teeples, Mallorie A1 - Kim, Dahae A1 - Ahnert, Sebastian A1 - Ohler, Uwe A1 - Ware, Doreen A1 - Walhout, Albertha J M A1 - Benfey, Philip N KW - Arabidopsis KW - Arabidopsis Proteins KW - Gene Expression Profiling KW - Gene Regulatory Networks KW - MicroRNAs KW - Plant Roots KW - Reproducibility of Results KW - Systems Biology KW - Transcription Factors KW - Two-Hybrid System Techniques AB -

Tightly controlled gene expression is a hallmark of multicellular development and is accomplished by transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs). Although many studies have focused on identifying downstream targets of these molecules, less is known about the factors that regulate their differential expression. We used data from high spatial resolution gene expression experiments and yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) and two-hybrid (Y2H) assays to delineate a subset of interactions occurring within a gene regulatory network (GRN) that determines tissue-specific TF and miRNA expression in plants. We find that upstream TFs are expressed in more diverse cell types than their targets and that promoters that are bound by a relatively large number of TFs correspond to key developmental regulators. The regulatory consequence of many TFs for their target was experimentally determined using genetic analysis. Remarkably, molecular phenotypes were identified for 65% of the TFs, but morphological phenotypes were associated with only 16%. This indicates that the GRN is robust, and that gene expression changes may be canalized or buffered.

VL - 7 ER -