Nature Communications (May 2020)

Structural basis for the complex DNA binding behavior of the plant stem cell regulator WUSCHEL

  • Jeremy Sloan,
  • Jana P. Hakenjos,
  • Michael Gebert,
  • Olga Ermakova,
  • Andrea Gumiero,
  • Gunter Stier,
  • Klemens Wild,
  • Irmgard Sinning,
  • Jan U. Lohmann

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16024-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

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WUSCHEL is a homeodomain transcription factor that is essential for stem cell maintenance in the plant shoot apical meristem. Here, via structural and biochemical approaches, Sloan et al. show that strong WUSCHEL binding to preferential target motifs can be attributed to dimer formation that stabilizes DNA binding.