title: A mutation of the mitochondrial ABC transporter Sta1 leads to dwarfism and chlorosis in the Arabidopsis mutant starik.
abstract: A mutation in the Arabidopsis gene STARIK leads to dwarfism and chlorosis of plants with an altered morphology of leaf and cell nuclei. We show that the STARIK gene encodes the mitochondrial ABC transporter Sta1 that belongs to a subfamily of Arabidopsis half-ABC transporters. The severity of the starik phenotype is suppressed by the ectopic expression of the STA2 homolog; thus, Sta1 function is partially redundant. Sta1 supports the maturation of cytosolic Fe/S protein in Deltaatm1 yeast, substituting for the ABC transporter Atm1p. Similar to Atm1p-deficient yeast, mitochondria of the starik mutant accumulated more nonheme, nonprotein iron than did wild-type organelles. We further show that plant mitochondria contain a putative l-cysteine desulfurase. Taken together, our results suggest that plant mitochondria possess an evolutionarily conserved Fe/S cluster biosynthesis pathway, which is linked to the intracellular iron homeostasis by the function of Atm1p-like ABC transporters.
authors.affiliation: Vakgroep Moleculaire Genetica and Departement Plantengenetica, Vlaams Interuniversitair Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Universiteit Gent, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. sekus@gengenp.rug.ac.be
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kushnir
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Babiychuk
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Storozhenko
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Papenbrock
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Rycke
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Engler
authors.forename: U W
authors.initials: UW
authors.lastname: Stephan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kispal
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lill
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Montagu
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C109353:ATA1 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D007501:Iron