A MYB‐type transcription factor, MYB2, represses light‐harvesting protein genes in Cyanidioschyzon merolae. Issue 16 (4th August 2017) - Kawase, Yasuko
Abstract : While searching for transcriptional regulators that respond to changes in light regimes, we identified a MYB domain‐containing protein, MYB2, that accumulates under dark and other conditions in the unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae . The isolation and analysis of a MYB2 mutant revealed that MYB2 represses the expression of the nuclear‐encoded chloroplast RNA polymerase sigma factor gene SIG2, which results in the repression of the chloroplast‐encoded phycobilisome genes that are under its control. Since nuclear‐encoded phycobilisome and other light‐harvesting protein genes are also repressed by MYB2, we conclude that MYB2 has a role in repressing the expression of light‐harvesting genes. The MYB2 mutant is sensitive to a prolonged dark incubation, indicating the importance of MYB2 for cell viability in the dark. Abstract :