Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026
09:07
Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation
Published on: June 21, 2016
Small yet effective: the ethylene responsive element binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motif
Sateesh Kagale1, Kevin Rozwadowski
1Saskatoon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Plant Signaling & Behavior
|May 28, 2010
Summary
The Ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated Amphiphilic Repression (EAR) motif is a frequent plant protein regulator. New evidence suggests phosphorylation and roles beyond transcriptional repression, including in plant immunity.
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology
- Transcriptional regulation
- Protein motif analysis
Background:
- The Ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated Amphiphilic Repression (EAR) motif is a conserved regulatory element in plant transcriptional regulators (TRs).
- Previous work identified the Arabidopsis EAR repressome (219 TRs across 21 families) and refined EAR motifs to LxLxL or DLNxxP signatures.
- EAR motifs are highly conserved across diverse plant species and are frequently detected in 10-25% of TRs.
Discussion:
- Mechanisms regulating EAR motif function and the cellular roles of EAR repressors remain incompletely understood.
- Evidence suggests that phosphorylation of adjacent Ser/Thr residues may regulate EAR motif activity.
- The study explores potential novel roles for EAR motifs in plant-pathogen interactions and other biological processes.
Key Insights:
- The LxLxL and DLNxxP sequence signatures define EAR motifs, which are prevalent in plant TRs.
- Phosphorylation of nearby amino acids is a potential regulatory mechanism for EAR motif function.
- EAR motifs may play roles in plant immunity and processes beyond transcriptional repression.
Outlook:
- Further research is needed to elucidate the precise regulatory mechanisms and cellular functions of EAR motifs.
- Investigating EAR motif involvement in plant-pathogen interactions could reveal new avenues for crop protection.
- Understanding EAR repressor dynamics will enhance our knowledge of plant gene regulation and development.
Related Concept Videos
01:52Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors
Certain biochemical processes, such as embryonic development and cell growth regulation, depend on the repression of specific genes. DNA binding proteins known as eukaryotic transcription inhibitors regulate the repression of gene expression in eukaryotes. The presence of these inhibitors at the required location and time in the cell is triggered by the presence of hormones and additional signals from other cells.
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a DNA...
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a DNA...
02:04Co-activators and Co-repressors
Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
02:13Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators
Transcriptional regulators bind to specific cis-regulatory sequences in the DNA to regulate gene transcription. These cis-regulatory sequences are very short, usually less than ten nucleotide pairs in length. The short length means that there is a high probability of the exact same sequence randomly occurring throughout the genome. Since regulators can also bind to groups of similar sequences, this further increases the chances of random binding. Transcriptional regulators form dimers that...
02:13Cooperative Binding of Transcription Regulators
Transcriptional regulators bind to specific cis-regulatory sequences in the DNA to regulate gene transcription. These cis-regulatory sequences are very short, usually less than ten nucleotide pairs in length. The short length means that there is a high probability of the exact same sequence randomly occurring throughout the genome. Since regulators can also bind to groups of similar sequences, this further increases the chances of random binding. Transcriptional regulators form dimers that...
02:36RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins
Proteins that regulate transcription can do so either via direct contact with RNA Polymerase or through indirect interactions facilitated by adaptors, mediators, histone-modifying proteins, and nucleosome remodelers. Direct interactions to activate transcription is seen in bacteria as well as in some eukaryotic genes. In these cases, upstream activation sequences are adjacent to the promoters, and the activator proteins interact directly with the transcriptional machinery. For example, in...
02:42Eukaryotic Transcription Activators
Transcription activators are proteins that promote the transcription of genes from DNA to RNA. In most cases, these proteins contain two separate domains ‒ a domain that binds to DNA and a domain for activating transcription; however, in some cases, a single domain is responsible for both binding and activation of transcription, as seen in the glucocorticoid receptor and MyoD.
The binding domains are capable of recognizing and interacting with regulatory sequences on the DNA. These domains are...
The binding domains are capable of recognizing and interacting with regulatory sequences on the DNA. These domains are...