ZIP — Brassica oleracea var. botrytis

Summary

BoZIP (ZIP, BoAGO7) on cauliflower chromosome 6 encodes an Argonaute-family protein with Piwi, PAZ and RNaseH-like domains and RNA endonuclease activity. It is associated with RNA binding, gene silencing by miRNA and ta-siRNA, posttranscriptional gene silencing, and antiviral response. The gene is linked to temporal regulation of development, vegetative phase change, maintenance of shoot apical meristem identity, stem cell population maintenance, and both male and female meiotic nuclear division. It localises to the nucleus, cytoplasm and nucleolus. Associations include root length, drought tolerance, leaf morphology and polarity, auxin signalling, and juvenile-to-adult transition. Studies of related genes in other species connect the family to leaf rolling, leaf colour, zinc concentration and auxin sensitivity.