The TRANSPLANTA collection of Arabidopsis lines: a resource for functional analysis of transcription factors based on their conditional overexpression

[EN] Transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of gene expression in all organisms. In eukaryotes, TFs are often represented by functionally redundant members of large gene families. Overexpression might prove a means to unveil the biological functions of redundant TFs; however, constitutive overexpression of TFs frequently causes severe developmental defects, preventing their functional characterization. Conditional overexpression strategies help to overcome this problem. Here, we report on the TRANSPLANTA collection of Arabidopsis lines, each expressing one of 949 TFs under the control of a beta-estradiol-inducible promoter. Thus far, 1636 independent homozygous lines, representing an average of 2.6 lines for every TF, have been produced for the inducible expression of 634 TFs. Along with a GUS-GFP reporter, randomly selected TRANSPLANTA lines were tested and confirmed for conditional transgene expression upon beta-estradiol treatment. As a proof of concept for the exploitation of this resource, beta-estradiol-induced proliferation of root hairs, dark-induced senescence, anthocyanin accumulation and dwarfism were observed in lines conditionally expressing full-length cDNAs encoding RHD6, WRKY22, MYB123/TT2 and MYB26, respectively, in agreement with previously reported phenotypes conferred by these TFs. Further screening performed with other TRANSPLANTA lines allowed the identification of TFs involved in different plant biological processes, illustrating that the collection is a powerful resource for the functional characterization of TFs. For instance, ANAC058 and a TINY/AP2 TF were identified as modulators of ABA-mediated germination potential, and RAP2.10/DEAR4 was identified as a regulator of cell death in the hypocotyl-root transition zone. Seeds of TRANSPLANTA lines have been deposited at the Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre for further distribution.This work has been performed in the frame of the TRANSPLANTA consortium, which is dedicated to the functional analysis of Arabidopsis TFs (http://bioinfogp.cnb.csic.es/transplanta_dev). We thank Tono Garc ~ ıa and Juana Monterrey for bioinformatic and administrative support, respectively. The REGIA cDNA clones were transferred into pER8GW by our collaborators at the MaxPlanck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (Cologne, Germany) and the Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy (BRC, Szeged, Hungary) within the DFG (Deutsche Forschung Gemeinschaft) project 436 UNG 113/172/0–1. This research was supported by the CONSOLIDER TRANSPLANTA CSD2007-00057 grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN), and by BIO2011-27526 and BIO2010-15589 grants from the Ministerio de Econom ıa y Competitividad (to J.L. and J.A.J., respectively).Coego González, A.; Brizuela Cantero, E.; Castillejo, P.; Ruiz, S.; Koncz, C.; Del Pozo, JC.; Piñeiro, M.... (2014). The TRANSPLANTA collection of Arabidopsis lines: a resource for functional analysis of transcription factors based on their conditional overexpression. Plant Journal. 77(6):944-953. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.1244394495377