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Transcription Factors in Plant Gene Expression Regulation, 2nd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 515

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Pharmaceutical Botany, Medical University of Łódź, Muszyńskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland
Interests: medicinal plant molecular biology; medicinal plant genetics; promoter structure and function; plant secondary metabolites; protein homology modeling
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant transcription factors play a decisive role in the regulation of gene expression. Their interactions with promoter and enhancer regions are pivotal for the building of the RNA polymerase preinitiation complex. The activation and degradation of plant trans-factors are precisely regulated by post-translational modifications in response to diverse events occurring within plant cells or outside of the plant body as biotic or abiotic stress factors. Plant trans-factors interact with oligo DNA sequences known as cis-active elements. Although the position weight matrices for plant cis-active elements have been characterized in a number of databases, the binding of trans-factors in in vivo conditions is dependent on interactions that are often imperfect, weak, and protein- or DNA modification-dependent. Furthermore, numerous trans-factors must undergo dimerization or oligomerization to achieve their active state, adding another layer of control to gene expression regulation. Building functional dimers or oligomers of trans-factors may be dependent on the closely localized cis-elements confined within the promoter sequence. Usually, cis-active elements that are important for gene regulation are not distributed statistically but concentrated within evolutionary conserved promoter fragments known as modules. Original research and reviews articles from experts in the field are welcome.

Dr. Piotr Szymczyk
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plant trans-factor
  • cis-active sequence
  • post-translational modification
  • dimerization and oligomerization
  • DNA modules

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

15 pages, 1351 KiB  
Review
Unraveling the Complexity of Plant Trichomes: Models, Mechanisms, and Bioengineering Strategies
by Tiantian Chen, Yanfei Ma and Jiyan Qi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(14), 7008; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26147008 - 21 Jul 2025
Viewed by 309
Abstract
Trichomes—microscopic appendages on the plant epidermis—play vital roles as both protective barriers and specialized biosynthetic factories. Acting as the first line of defense against environmental stressors, they also produce a wide range of pharmaceutically valuable secondary metabolites. This mini-review highlights recent advances in [...] Read more.
Trichomes—microscopic appendages on the plant epidermis—play vital roles as both protective barriers and specialized biosynthetic factories. Acting as the first line of defense against environmental stressors, they also produce a wide range of pharmaceutically valuable secondary metabolites. This mini-review highlights recent advances in understanding the development, structure, and function of trichomes, with a focus on glandular secretory trichomes (GSTs) in key species such as Artemisia annua and Solanum lycopersicum. We explore how insights from these systems are driving innovation in plant synthetic biology, including modular genetic engineering and metabolic channeling strategies. These breakthroughs are paving the way for scalable, plant-based platforms to produce high-value compounds. By integrating molecular mechanisms with emerging technologies, this review outlines a forward-looking framework for leveraging trichomes in sustainable agriculture, natural product discovery, and next-generation biomanufacturing. Full article
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