The Arabidopsis transcription factor bZIP11 activates auxin-mediated transcription by recruiting the histone acetylation machinery

In higher plants, the hormone auxin orchestrates a diverse array of developmental and environmental responses mainly exerted via transcriptional control. In its absence, auxin-mediated transcription is postulated to be repressed by histone deacetylases, which convert chromatin into a highly packed inactive state. Here we present a converse mechanism where Arabidopsis bZIP11-related basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors interact via an amino-terminal activation domain with ADA2b adapter proteins to recruit the histone acetylation machinery to specific auxin-responsive genes. Gain, loss-of-function and pharmacological approaches as well as chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments addressing various components of the recruitment and acetylation machinery substantiate the proposed mechanism. Importantly, G-box-related cis-elements, frequently found in auxin-induced promoters, are shown to bind bZIP11-related bZIPs and to function as quantitative modulators of auxin-induced transcription. In conclusion, we describe a regulatory activation mechanism that serves as a rheostat to modulate auxin-mediated responses.