ELF3

Description

The ELF3 (E74 like ETS transcription factor 3) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 1.

ELF3 is a plant-specific gene that encodes a hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein essential for the circadian clock's function. It's one of the three components of the Evening Complex (EC) within the plant circadian clock, with all three components peaking in gene expression and protein levels at dusk. ELF3 serves as a scaffold for binding EARLY FLOWERING 4 (ELF4) and LUX ARRHYTHMO (LUX), two other components of the EC. It controls photoperiod sensitivity in plants, plays a vital role in temperature and light input for circadian clock entrainment, and participates in light and temperature signaling independent of its role in the EC. ELF3 was discovered in 1992 by a research team studying Arabidopsis thaliana mutants experiencing altered flowering. They identified an early-flowering, photoperiod-insensitive variant named elf3, along with other early-flowering mutants. Further research detailed ELF3's nature, showing the elf3 mutation on chromosome 2 was at a novel genetic locus.

ELF3 is a transcription activator that binds to and activates ETS sequences containing the consensus nucleotide core sequence GGA[AT]. It works together with POU2F3 to activate the SPRR2A promoter and with RUNX1 to activate the ANGPT1 promoter. It also activates the promoters of collagenase, CCL20, CLND7, FLG, KRT8, NOS2, PTGS2, SPRR2B, TGFBR2 and TGM3, while repressing KRT4 promoter activity. ELF3 is involved in mediating vascular inflammation. It may play a significant role in epithelial cell differentiation and tumorigenesis. It may also be a critical downstream effector of the ERBB2 signaling pathway and be associated with mammary gland development and involution. ELF3 plays a crucial role in the regulation of transcription with TATA-less promoters in preimplantation embryos, which is essential for preimplantation development.

ELF3 is also known as EPR-1, ERT, ESE-1, ESX.

Associated Diseases

WES Whole Exome Sequencing