RESUMEN
Toc64/OEP64 was identified biochemically in pea as a putative component of the chloroplast protein import apparatus. In Arabidopsis, three paralogous genes (atTOC64-III, atTOC64-V and atTOC64-I) encode Toc64-related proteins, and these have been reported to localize in chloroplasts, mitochondria and the cytosol, respectively. To assess the role of the atToc64-III protein in chloroplast protein import in an in vivo context, we identified and characterized Arabidopsis knockout mutants. The absence of detectable defects in toc64-III single mutants raised the possibility of redundancy, and prompted us to also identify toc64-V and toc64-I mutants, cross them to toc64-III, and generate double- and triple-mutant combinations. The toc64 mutants were analysed carefully with respect to a variety of criteria, including chlorophyll accumulation, photosynthetic performance, organellar ultrastructure and chloroplast protein accumulation. In each case, the mutant plants were indistinguishable from wild type. Furthermore, the efficiency of chloroplast protein import was not affected by the toc64 mutations, even when a putative substrate of the atToc64-III protein (wheatgerm-translated precursor of the 33 kDa subunit of the oxygen-evolving complex, OE33) was examined. Moreover, under various stress conditions (high light, osmotic stress and cold), the toc64 triple-mutant plants were not significantly different from wild type. These results demonstrate that Toc64/OEP64 is not essential for the efficient import of proteins into chloroplasts in Arabidopsis, and draw into question the functional significance of this component.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Arabidopsis/fisiología , Arabidopsis/fisiología , Cloroplastos/metabolismo , Proteínas de la Membrana/fisiología , Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Secuencia de Bases , Cartilla de ADN , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Microscopía Electrónica de Transmisión , Mutagénesis Insercional , Filogenia , Transporte de Proteínas , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa InversaRESUMEN
In Arabidopsis, Hsp93 is encoded by two genes, atHSP93-V and atHSP93-III. We identified two T-DNA mutants for atHSP93-III: one being a partial 'knockdown' (hsp93-III-1) and the other a complete 'knockout' (hsp93-III-2). Homozygotes for both mutants were indistinguishable from wild type. We crossed each mutant to an atHSP93-V knockout, and identified double mutants with strongly chlorotic phenotypes. This implied redundancy, which was confirmed by the complementation of mildly chlorotic hsp93-V plants by atHSP93-III over-expression. While the hsp93-V hsp93-III-1 mutant was doubly homozygous, the second double mutant was heterozygous for hsp93-III-2 (genotype: hsp93-V/hsp93-V; +/hsp93-III-2). Attempts to identify an hsp93-V hsp93-III-2 double homozygote were unsuccessful, indicating that the Hsp93 pool is essential for viability. Consistently, siliques of the second double mutant contained aborted seeds (because of a block in the zygote-embryo transition) and failed ovules (because of a moderate defect in female gametophytes). Double-mutant plants were chlorophyll-deficient, contained under-developed chloroplasts, and exhibited stunted growth. In import assays using a chimeric pre-protein (plastocyanin transit peptide fused to dihydrofolate reductase; PC-DHFR), a clear defect was observed in hsp93-V hsp93-III-1 chloroplasts. Interestingly, while denaturation or stabilization of the DHFR moiety had a strong effect on import efficiency in the wild type, no such effects were observed with double-mutant (or tic40) chloroplasts. This indicated that pre-protein unfolding is not rate-limiting for import into mutant chloroplasts, and suggested that (unlike the situation in mitochondria) the inner membrane import machinery does not contribute to pre-protein unfolding at the organellar surface.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Arabidopsis/fisiología , Proteínas de Choque Térmico/fisiología , Chaperonas Moleculares/fisiología , Plastidios/metabolismo , Animales , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Clorofila/metabolismo , Cloroplastos/metabolismo , Cloroplastos/ultraestructura , Proteínas de Choque Térmico/genética , Immunoblotting , Ratones , Microscopía Electrónica de Transmisión , Chaperonas Moleculares/genética , Mutación , Fenotipo , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente , Transporte de Proteínas/genética , Transporte de Proteínas/fisiología , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/metabolismo , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa Inversa , Semillas/citología , Semillas/genética , Semillas/metabolismo , Tetrahidrofolato Deshidrogenasa/genética , Tetrahidrofolato Deshidrogenasa/metabolismoRESUMEN
Toc75 (translocon at the outer envelope membrane of chloroplasts, 75 kD) is the protein translocation channel at the outer envelope membrane of plastids and was first identified in pea (Pisum sativum) using biochemical approaches. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome contains three Toc75-related sequences, termed atTOC75-I, atTOC75-III, and atTOC75-IV, which we studied using a range of molecular, genetic, and biochemical techniques. Expression of atTOC75-III is strongly regulated and at its highest level in young, rapidly expanding tissues. By contrast, atTOC75-IV is expressed uniformly throughout development and at a much lower level than atTOC75-III. The third sequence, atTOC75-I, is a pseudogene that is not expressed due to a gypsy/Ty3 transposon insertion in exon 1, and numerous nonsense, frame-shift, and splice-junction mutations. The expressed genes, atTOC75-III and atTOC75-IV, both encode integral envelope membrane proteins. Unlike atToc75-III, the smaller atToc75-IV protein is not processed upon targeting to the envelope, and its insertion does not require ATP at high concentrations. The atTOC75-III gene is essential for viability, since homozygous atToc75-III knockout mutants (termed toc75-III) could not be identified, and aborted seeds were observed at a frequency of approximately 25% in the siliques of self-pollinated toc75-III heterozygotes. Homozygous toc75-III embryos were found to abort at the two-cell stage. Homozygous atToc75-IV knockout plants (termed toc75-IV) displayed no obvious visible phenotypes. However, structural abnormalities were observed in the etioplasts of toc75-IV seedlings and atTOC75-IV overexpressing lines, and toc75-IV plants were less efficient at deetiolation than wild type. These results suggest some role for atToc75-IV during growth in the dark.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Arabidopsis/genética , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Precursores de Proteínas/genética , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Mapeo Cromosómico , Cromosomas de las Plantas , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica/fisiología , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas , Proteínas de la Membrana/metabolismo , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Familia de Multigenes , Mutación , Fenotipo , Filogenia , Precursores de Proteínas/metabolismo , Plantones/metabolismo , Semillas/crecimiento & desarrollo , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Distribución TisularRESUMEN
In contrast to animals, the plant male germline is established after meiosis in distinctive haploid structures, termed pollen grains. The germline arises by a distinct asymmetric division of the meiotic products . The fates of the resulting vegetative and generative cells are distinct. In contrast to the larger vegetative cell, arrested in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, the smaller generative cell divides once to produce the two male gametes or sperm cells. Sperm cells are delivered to the female gametes by the pollen tube, which develops from the vegetative cell. In spite of recent efforts to understand pollen development , the molecular pathway controlling sperm-cell ontogenesis is unknown. Here, we present the isolation of DUO1, a novel R2R3 MYB gene of Arabidopsis, as the first gene shown to control male gamete formation in plants. DUO1 is specifically expressed in the male germline, and DUO1 protein accumulates in sperm-cell nuclei. Mutations in DUO1 produce a single larger diploid sperm cell unable to perform fertilization. DUO1 appears to be evolutionarily conserved in several plant species and defines a new subfamily of pollen-specific MYB genes.