This short motif is found in a variety of plant transcription factors that contain GATA domains as well as other motifs. The most conserved amino acids form the pattern TIFF/YXG. This domain may be involved in binding DNA. The ZIM family gene is that contains ZIM motif but no belong to GATA family.
The deduced protein has a modular structure with a putative single C2-C2 zinc-finger motif distantly related to a GATA-1-type finger, a basic region with a sequence resembling a nuclear localization signal, and an acidic region. The gene seemed to have been formed by the exon-shuffling during its molecular evolution, since individual domains are encoded by discrete exons. RNA gel blot analysis showed its expression in shoot apex and flowers in the reproductive phase. The gene was named ZIM for Zinc-finger protein expressed in Inflorescence Meristem. The nuclear localization of ZIM was detected using GFP as a reporter. These results suggest that ZIM is a putative transcription factor involved in inflorescence and flower development.
Nishii A, Takemura M, Fujita H, Shikata M, Yokota A, Kohchi T.
Characterization of a novel gene encoding a putative single zinc-finger protein, ZIM, expressed during the reproductive phase in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2000 Jul;64(7):1402-9.
PMID: 10945256
|
