M1 — Zea mays

Summary

ZM00001EB135380 (ZmM1) on maize chromosome 3 encodes a TRAF1A/B family protein with a MATH/TRAF domain, possessing DNA binding transcription factor activity and histidine kinase binding. The gene is associated with starch breakdown, vegetative phase change, lipid transport, TCA cycle, chromatin modeling, inflorescence development, cellular response to hypoxia, transcriptional downregulation, and innate immunity. It localizes to the nucleus, cytosol, cytoplasm, plasmalemma, and extracellular regions. ZmM1 has been linked to agronomically important traits including grain yield, plant height, leaf number, starch and protein content, anthesis and flowering time, meristem identity, disease tolerance, and responses to high temperature and salt stress. Studies of related genes in other species connect the family to thermotolerance, pathogen resistance, circadian rhythm, hypocotyl elongation, and cell death.