AP2 — Lactuca sativa

Summary

LsAP2, an AP2/ERF domain-containing protein on chromosome 4 of garden lettuce, is a sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factor with transcription corepressor and coactivator activities, blue light photoreceptor activity, and protein homodimerization ability. It is associated with the regulation of floral organ abscission, seed development and abscission, endosperm and seed coat development, plant epidermal cell fate specification, starch biosynthesis, nitrogen utilization, and the photoentrainment of the circadian clock. The gene has been linked to numerous traits including seed color, branch angle, photoperiod-sensitive flowering time, plant male sterility, shoot system elongation, leaf growth, trichome morphology, and responses to aphids, thrips, jasmonic acid, cytokinin, and gibberellic acid. Related genes in other species link the family to trichome development, mucilage production, drought tolerance, and defense against pathogens and insects.