[Computational identification of transcriptional regulatory elements in Arabidopsis TCH4 promoter]

Arabidopsis TCH4 gene plays an important role in the biological processes related to plant secondary growth, resistance to pathogen, and adaptation to environmental stresses. It is up-regulated by various hormonal, environmental, and mechanical stimuli. Here, we identified 9 transcriptional regulatory elements from TCH4 promoter by bioinformatics approach. In which, 4 elements have been reported previously, and 5 elements are newly identified in this study. All of the identified elements contain the sequences of known cis-elements. Especially, their distribution along some co-expressed gene promoters and the orthologous promoters is typically clustered and syntenic. Based on our predictions and the information of known cis-elements, a model representing the transcriptional regulation mechanism was proposed for TCH4 gene in response to hormonal, mechanical, and environmental stimuli.