title: CLA1, a novel gene required for chloroplast development, is highly conserved in evolution.
abstract: An albino mutant designated cla1-1 (for "cloroplastos alterados', or "altered chloroplasts') has been isolated from a T-DNA-generated library of Arabidopsis thaliana. In cla1-1 plants, chloroplast development is arrested at an early stage. cla1-1 plants behave like wild-type in their capacity to etiolate and produce anthocyanins indicating that the light signal transduction pathway seems to be unaffected. Genetic and molecular analyses show that the disruption of a single gene, CLA1, by the T-DNA insertion is responsible for the mutant phenotype. RNA expression patterns indicate that CLA1 is positively regulated by light and that it has different effects on the steady-state RNA levels of some nuclear- and chloroplast-encoded photosynthetic genes. Although the specific function of the CLA1 gene is still unknown, it encodes a novel protein conserved in evolution between photosynthetic bacteria and plants which is essential for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingeniería Genética de Plantas, CINVESTAV, México.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mandel
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Feldmann
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Herrera-Estrella
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rocha-Sosa
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: León
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000502:physiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015723:Gene Library; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D016354:Rhodobacter capsulatus / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C099778:CLA1 protein, Arabidopsis; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002734:Chlorophyll; D002338:Carotenoids