MePHD1 as a PHD-Finger Protein Negatively Regulates ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Small Subunit1a Gene in Cassava

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is an important enzyme in the starch synthesis pathway. Its enzyme activity can determine the efficiency of starch biosynthesis. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is the main staple crop worldwide and has a high starch content in its storage root. However, the inner regulatory mechanism of AGPase gene family is unclear. MePHD1; a plant homeodomain transcription factor; was isolated through a yeast one-hybrid screening using the promoter of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small subunit1a (MeAGPS1a) as bait, and cassava storage root cDNA library as prey. This factor could bind to the MeAGPS1a promoter in vitro and in vivo, and its predicted binding region ranged from −400 bp to −201 bp, at the translation initiation site. The transcript level of MePHD1 could be induced by five plant hormones, and a temperature of 42 °C. This was down-regulated during the maturation process of the storage root. MePHD1 protein could repress the promoter activity of MeAGPS1a gene by a dual-luciferase assay; which indicated that MePHD1 is a negative regulator for the transcript level of MeAGPS1a gene.