Identifying cis-acting sugar response elements in promoter of genes that facilitate glucose signaling in Arabidopsis.

Over the years, a number of genes involved in juvenility and floral signal transduction, has been found to be transcriptionally, regulated by sugars. However, little is known about the transcriptional mechanisms which underlying these responses. This is due to the capacity of sugars to act as nutrients, osmotic regulators and signalling molecules. Cis-acting sugar regulatory elements are important molecular switches involved in the temporal and spatial expression of a dynamic network of gene activities. This network controls hormone and abiotic stress responses, and developmental events such as juvenility and floral induction. In this study, we have examined expression levels and promoter features of different genes encoding proteins that have been implicated as targets of glucose signal transduction pathways, and might participate in juvenility and floral induction. Identifying the functionally active sugar response elements in the predicted promoter regions of genes that undergo glucose induced transcriptional regulation will lead us closer to understanding these signal transduction mechanisms.