ERD8 — Sorghum bicolor

Summary

SORBI_3007G216300 (SbERD8) on sorghum chromosome 7 encodes a heat shock protein 90 family member with ATP-dependent protein folding chaperone activity, transcription regulator activity, and siRNA/miRNA binding. It is associated with diverse biological processes including cellular response to brassinosteroid stimulus, auxin metabolism, cytokinin anabolism, UV protection, photoentrainment of the circadian clock, and negative regulation of cellulose anabolism. The gene has been linked to traits such as maturity time, photoperiod-sensitive flowering time, reproductive growth time, seed viability, starch grain synthesis, shoot meristem development, and responses to aphids, downy mildew, viral disease, and herbicides. Localization evidence places the product at the chloroplast outer membrane, ER lumen, vesicle, and proteasome. Studies of related HSP90 family members in other species connect the family to heat shock response, basal defense, pathogen resistance, floral transition, and drought memory.