Translational fusions with the engrailed repressor domain efficiently convert plant transcription factors into dominant-negative functions

Evidence is provided that plant transcription factors can be efficiently reprogrammed to dominant- negative functions by the use of a repressor domain of the engrailed (en) gene from Drosophila. Ectopic expression of translational fusions between the en(298) N-terminus and the complete coding regions of the SHOOTMERISTEMLESS, APETALA3, PISTILLATA and KNAT1 transcription factors results in trans-dominant functions which phenocopy loss-of-function mutants. The combination of the dominant-negative en(298)-STM function with the hormone-binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor provides strong evidence that phenocopies rely on the incorporation of the chimeric protein into the nuclear compartment. By this dominant-negative approach KNAT1 was rapidly identified to be encoded by the BREVIPEDICELLUS locus. Dominant-negative chimeric proteins may be of wide use to elucidate biological functions of plant transcriptional activators and may be suitable to study protein–protein interactions in planta.