ABSTRACT
In this chapter, our goal is to describe the components and tools that already exist, and which are required for the future study and application of transcription factors (TFs) by agricultural biotechnologists. The components include the TF genes that are being isolated along with the promoters and the cis-regulatory elements (CRE) that they regulate. Their study is being facilitated by a growing cadre of tools that have been enhanced by recent developments in genomics technologies. This chapter will focus primarily on monocots because of the relative importance of cereals in agriculture, but will discuss dicot species where important insights and tools are being developed. The ultimate goal of these studies is to manipulate traits guided by the detailed knowledge of the underlying complexity in gene regulation. As we hope to make clear, there are many examples of TFs that have been manipulated for thousands of years as part of the domestication of cereal crops. The hope is that a deeper knowledge of TFs and their global regulatory roles will permit the further improvement of cereals by marker-assisted selection or transgene technologies, and hasten the time frame in which these improvements can be attained.
