Structure and regulatory function of plant transcription factors

The expression of inducible genes in plants is regulated by specific transc ription factors at the transcriptional level. A typical transcription facto r usually contains a DNA-binding domain, a transcription regulation domain, a dimerization site and a nuclear localization domain. These functional do mains define the characteristic, localization and regulatory role of a tran scription factor. Transcription factors recognize and bind to specific cis- acting elements or interact with other proteins, and then activate or repre ss the transcription of target genes by their functional domains. In recent years, elucidation on the structure and function of transcription factors has become an important subject in plant molecular biology.