title: Albino T-DNA tomato mutant reveals a key function of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS1) in plant development and survival.
abstract: Photosynthetic activity is indispensable for plant growth and survival and it depends on the synthesis of plastidial isoprenoids as chlorophylls and carotenoids. In the non-mevalonate pathway (MEP), the 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase 1 (DXS1) enzyme has been postulated to catalyze the rate-limiting step in the formation of plastidial isoprenoids. In tomato, the function of DXS1 has only been studied in fruits, and hence its functional relevance during plant development remains unknown. Here we report the characterization of the wls-2297 tomato mutant, whose severe deficiency in chlorophylls and carotenoids promotes an albino phenotype. Additionally, growth of mutant seedlings was arrested without developing vegetative organs, which resulted in premature lethality. Gene cloning and silencing experiments revealed that the phenotype of wls-2297 mutant was caused by 38.6 kb-deletion promoted by a single T-DNA insertion affecting the DXS1 gene. This was corroborated by in vivo and molecular complementation assays, which allowed the rescue of mutant phenotype. Further characterization of tomato plants overexpressing DXS1 and comparative expression analysis indicate that DXS1 may play other important roles besides to that proposed during fruit carotenoid biosynthesis. Taken together, these results demonstrate that DXS1 is essentially required for the development and survival of tomato plants.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García-Alcázar
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giménez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (UPV-CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Benito
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capel
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (UPV-CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: García-Sogo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (UPV-CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Sibilla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Fernando J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Yuste-Lisbona
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Trinidad
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Angosto
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Capel
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (UPV-CSIC), Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Agroalimentaria (BITAL), Universidad de Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lozano
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000378:metabolism; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D034622:RNA Interference; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development; D014166:Transferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins; C036483:T-DNA; D002734:Chlorophyll; D002338:Carotenoids; D014166:Transferases; C109461:deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase