Helix–loop–helix/basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor network represses cell elongation in Arabidopsis through an apparent incoherent feed-forward loop
2014
Zhiponova, Miroslava K. | Morohashi, Kengo | Vanhoutte, Isabelle | Machemer-Noonan, Katja | Revalska, Miglena | Van Montagu, Marc | Grotewold, Erich | Russinova, Eugenia
Cell elongation is promoted by different environmental and hormonal signals, involving light, temperature, brassinosteroid (BR), and gibberellin, that inhibit the atypical basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factor INCREASED LEAF INCLINATION1 BINDING bHLH1 (IBH1). Ectopic accumulation of IBH1 causes a severe dwarf phenotype, but the cell elongation suppression mechanism is still not well understood. Here, we identified a close homolog of IBH1, IBH1-LIKE1 (IBL1), that also antagonized BR responses and cell elongation. Genome-wide expression analyses showed that IBH1 and IBL1 act interdependently downstream of the BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT1 (BZR1)–PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4)–DELLA module. Although characterized as non-DNA binding, IBH1 repressed direct IBL1 transcription, and they both acted in tandem to suppress the expression of a common downstream helix–loop–helix (HLH)/bHLH network, thus forming an incoherent feed-forward loop. IBH1 and IBL1 together repressed the expression of PIF4, known to stimulate skotomorphogenesis synergistically with BZR1. Strikingly, PIF4 bound all direct and down-regulated HLH/bHLH targets of IBH1 and IBL1. Additional genome-wide comparisons suggested a model in which IBH1 antagonized PIF4 but not the PIF4–BZR1 dimer.
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