C2H2-type Zinc Finger Protein ZFP11 Regulates Ovule Development In Arabidopsis Thaliana

Flowers of Arabidopsis are composed of four-wheeled flower organs---sepals,petals,stamens and pistils.Pistil is the latest flower organ,which consists of three parts:stigma,style and ovary.During the development of pistil,ovules are produced and develop into seeds,so the development of ovules is important for pistil.The ovule is developed from three parts:nucellus,chalaza and funiculus.Previous studies have shown that many genes are involved in the regulation of ovule development.Transcription factors play a crucial role in plant growth and development,which can regulate the expression of downstream genes by binding to DNA.There are five types of transcription factors:WRKY,NAC,AP2/ERF,bZIP and zinc finger protein.Zinc finger protein transcription factors are widely involved in plant development.In this study,we analyzed expression of single zinc finger protein ZFP11,found that ZFP11 protein is a nuclear protein expressed in the ovule of Arabidopsis thaliana.Mutant zfp11-1 showed more branches,and abnormal ovule development.T-DNA insertion mutant zfp11-L2 also showed abnormal ovule development.In the mutant zfp11-1 ovule,the expression level of WUSCHEL(WUS)increased.Overexpression ZFP11 protein showed that the main stem inflorescence was inhibited,and the pistil of lateral branch inflorescence was abnormally developed.Our study found that ZFP11 protein can bind to the promoter of WUS.ZFP11 protein can interact with WUS protein.What's more,ZFP11 protein can interact with several protein factors involved in ovule development and participate in the process of ovule development.