Chloroplast development in Arabidopsis thaliana requires the nuclear-encoded transcription factor sigma B.
Development of plastids into chloroplasts, the organelles of photosynthesis, is triggered by light. However, little is known of the factors involved in the complex coordination of light-induced plastid gene expression, which must be directed by both nuclear and plastid genomes. We have isolated an Arabidopsis mutant, abc1, with impaired chloroplast development, which results in a pale green leaf phenotype. The mutated nuclear gene encodes a sigma factor, SigB, presumably for the eubacterial-like plastid RNA polymerase. Our results provide direct evidence that a nuclear-derived prokaryotic-like SigB protein, plays a critical role in the coordination of the two genomes for chloroplast development.
Shirano
Y
Y
Mitsui Plant Biotechnology Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Shimada
H
H
Kanamaru
K
K
Fujiwara
M
M
Tanaka
K
K
Takahashi
H
H
Unno
K
K
Sato
S
S
Tabata
S
S
Hayashi
H
H
Miyake
C
C
Yokota
A
A
Shibata
D
D
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000737:chemistry*; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D005470:Fluorometry; D015870:Gene Expression; D008027:Light; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development; D018087:Plastids / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018744:DNA, Plant; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C079011:SigB protein, Bacteria; D012808:Sigma Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors