title: Overexpression of the Arabidopsis thaliana MinD1 gene alters chloroplast size and number in transgenic tobacco plants.
abstract: The Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. minD gene (AtMinD1) was isolated and constitutively expressed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants using the CaMV 35S promoter. Confocal and electron-microscopic analysis of the AtMinD1 transgenic tobacco lines revealed that the chloroplasts were abnormally large and fewer in number compared with wild-type tobacco plants. The abnormal chloroplasts were less prevalent in guard cells than in mesophyll cells. Chloroplast and nuclear gene expression was not significantly different in AtMinD1-overexpressing plants relative to wild-type tobacco plants. Chloroplast DNA copy number was not affected, based on the relative level of the rbcL gene in transgenic plants. Transgenic tobacco plants constitutively overexpressing AtMinD1 were completely normal phenotypically with respect to growth and development, and also displayed normal photosynthetic electron transport rates. These results show that the Arabidopsis MinD1 gene also functions in a heterologous system and confirm the role of the MinD protein in regulation of chloroplast division.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546-0091, USA. rddink1@pop.uky.edu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dinkins
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D045342:Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D045342:Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes; C413326:MinD protein, Arabidopsis; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D002734:Chlorophyll