Isolation and characterization of a C-repeat binding transcription factor from maize

C-repeat binding proteins (CBFs) are a group of transcription factors that have been proven to be important for stress tolerance in plants. Many of these transcription factors transactivate the promoters of cold-regulated genes via binding to low temperature- or dehydration-responsive cis-elements, thus conferring plants cold acclimation. In the present study, we isolated a C-repeat binding transcription factor from maize using the yeast one-hybrid system with the C-repeat motif from the promoter of the Arabidopsis COR15a gene as bait. The isolated transcription factor is highly similar to the Arabidopsis CBF3 in their predicted amino acid sequences, and is therefore designated ZmCBF3. Point mutation analyses of the ZmCBF3-binding cis-element revealed (A/G)(C/T)CGAC as the core binding sequence. Expression analyses showed that ZmCBF3 was upregulated by both abscisic acid and low temperature, and was actively expressed during embryogenesis, suggesting that ZmCBF3 plays a role in stress response in maize.