Advances in the Regulation of Epidermal Cell Development by C2H2 Zinc Finger Proteins in Plants

Abstract

Plant epidermal cells, such as trichomes, root hairs, salt glands, and stomata, play pivotal roles in the growth, development, and environmental adaptation of terrestrial plants. Cell fate determination, differentiation, and the formation of epidermal structures represent basic developmental processes in multicellular organisms. Increasing evidence indicates that C2H2 zinc finger proteins play important roles in regulating the development of epidermal structures in plants and plant adaptation to unfavorable environments. Here, we systematically summarize the molecular mechanism underlying the roles of C2H2 zinc finger proteins in controlling epidermal cell formation in plants, with an emphasis on trichomes, root hairs, and salt glands and their roles in plant adaptation to environmental stress. In addition, we discuss the possible roles of homologous C2H2 zinc finger proteins in trichome development in non-halophytes and salt gland development in halophytes based on bioinformatic analysis. This review provides a foundation for further study of epidermal cell development and abiotic stress responses in plants.

Detection of Root Physiological Parameters and Potassium and Calcium Currents in the Rhizoplane of the Apple Rootstock Superior Line 12-2 With Improved Apple Replant Disease Resistance

“…Therefore, within one week of infection by ARD-associated F. proliferatum MR5, the roots of M26 and T337 showed numerous brown spots, rot, and fractures (Figure 2). These observations were consistent with previous reports of epidermal cell lysis, disintegration of cortical cells, root tip necrosis, and the almost complete loss of functional root hairs due to excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (Petrov et al, 2015;Han et al, 2021). Unlike the other two rootstocks, 12-2 could maintain a degree of balance between ROS production and scavenging, thereby maintaining the normal cellular redox state (Tanveer and Shah, 2017).…”

C2H2 Zinc Finger Proteins Response to Abiotic Stress in Plants

“…Two Cys and two His form coordination bonds with zinc atoms, which generate a stable finger-like structure [ 6 ]. The finger-like structure extends into the large groove of DNA double helix and specific contacts with DNA bases, so that it is capable of playing a role in transcriptional regulation [ 3 , 6 ]. In this finger-like structure, each finger domain contains one α-helix in the C-terminal and two β-strands in its N-terminal, creating a relatively independent structure.…”

“…The zinc finger proteins (ZFPs), named from the 'finger-like' zinc finger, are one of the largest families of transcription factors and are abundantly distributed in the plant kingdom [1][2][3][4]. ZFPs harbor a highly conserved domain which consists of approximately 20-30 amino acid residues with a consensus sequence of CX2-4CX3FX5LX2HX3-5H (X represents any amino acid, subscript: the number of amino acid) [1,2,5].…”

“…As diverse as zinc finger proteins' functions are, their structures are also varied and divided into different classes according to the numbers and positions of the cysteine (Cys) and histidine (His) residues that bind the zinc ion [6]. Based on this canonical classification method of zinc finger proteins, the members of these classes include C2H2 (TFIIIA), C2HC (Retroviral nucleocapsid), C2HC5 (LIM domain), C2C2, C3HC4 (RING finger), C4 (GATA-1), C4HC3 (Requium), C6 (GAL4), and other classes [3,6,8,9]. Among these subclasses, the C2H2 zinc finger proteins contain one of the best-characterized DNA-binding motifs, which are composed of two Cys and two His residues together with one zinc ion tetrahedrally [2,6].…”

“…In Arabidopsis thaliana, 176 C2H2-ZFPs have been reported, and 189, 109, 321, 118 and 47 C2H2-type ZFPs have been identified in rice (Oryza sativa), poplar (Populus trichocarpa), soybean (Glycine max), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), respectively [10][11][12][13][14]. Function analyses showed that C2H2-ZFPs are involved in regulating multiple growth development processes and resisting biotic and abiotic stress in plants [2][3][4]15].…”