CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The B-box (BBX) proteins are a class of zinc-finger transcription factors containing a B-box domain with one or two B-box motifs and sometimes also feature a CCT domain. BBX proteins are key factors in regulatory networks controlling growth and developmental processes like seedling photomorphogenesis, photoperiodic regulation of flowering, shade avoidance, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this review, we discuss about the functions of BBX proteins, and the role of B-box motif in mediating transcriptional regulation and protein-protein interaction in plant signaling. Additionally, we give insights into molecular mechanisms of their action, and the evolutionary significance of their functional divergence, all of which provide the foundation of the contributions of BBX proteins to the biology of plants.