Brassinosteroids (BRs) are compounds produced by plants affecting their
growth and development. In Arabidopsis and rice, transcription factors BZR1
and BES1/BZR2 have been defined as downstream regulators of the BR
signalling pathway. Similar proteins (GMBZLs) have been found in soybean,
where in GMBZL2 was recognized to have a conserved role in BR signalling
regulation. However, additional study is needed to investigate the role of
other GMBZLs. Thus, Li Song from Yangzhou University and team investigated
the role of GmBZL3 and the results are published in BMC Plant Biology.

[www.isaaa.org] Gene
expression patterns, conserved domains in coding sequences, and genomic
replication times of four GmBZL orthologes indicated that GmBZL3 may have
conserved functions in soybean development. The team overexpressed GmBZL3 in
the Arabidopsis BR-insensitive mutant bri1-5 partially rescued the
phenotypic defects including BR-insensitivity. This further indicates that
GmBZL3 functions are conserved between soybean and the homologous
Arabidopsis genes. Furthermore, the team identified BR-regulated GmBZL3
genes, and the findings show that GmBZL3 is a major transcription factor
responsible for BR-regulated gene expression and soybean growth.

[bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com]