bims-plasge 2020-06-14 papers

Issue of 2020–06–14
two papers selected by
Vera S. Bogdanova, ИЦиГ СО РАН

Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jun 05. pii: E4047. [Epub ahead of print]21(11):

The Mitochondrial Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein PPR18 Is Required for the cis-Splicing of nad4 Intron 1 and Essential to Seed Development in Maize.

Rui Liu, Shi-Kai Cao, Aqib Sayyed, Chunhui Xu, Feng Sun, Xiaomin Wang, Bao-Cai Tan.

Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein comprises a large family, participating in various aspects of organellar RNA metabolism in land plants. There are approximately 600 PPR proteins in maize, but the functions of many PPR proteins remain unknown. In this study, we defined the function of PPR18 in the cis-splicing of nad4 intron 1 in mitochondria and seed development in maize. Loss function of PPR18 seriously impairs embryo and endosperm development, resulting in the empty pericarp (emp) phenotype in maize. PPR18 encodes a mitochondrion-targeted P-type PPR protein with 18 PPR motifs. Transcripts analysis indicated that the splicing of nad4 intron 1 is impaired in the ppr18 mutant, resulting in the absence of nad4 transcript, leading to severely reduced assembly and activity of mitochondrial complex I and dramatically reduced respiration rate. These results demonstrate that PPR18 is required for the cis-splicing of nad4 intron 1 in mitochondria, and critical to complex I assembly and seed development in maize.

Keywords: PPR protein; RNA splicing; maize; mitochondrial complex I; nad4; seed development

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21114047

Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jun 05. pii: E4060. [Epub ahead of print]21(11):

SYMMETRIC PETALS 1 Encodes an ALOG Domain Protein that Controls Floral Organ Internal Asymmetry in Pea (Pisum sativum L.).

Liang He, Yawen Lei, Xin Li, Qincheng Peng, Wei Liu, Keyuan Jiao, Shihao Su, Zhubing Hu, Zhenguo Shen, Da Luo.

In contrast to typical radially symmetrical flowers, zygomorphic flowers, such as those produced by pea (Pisum sativum L.), have bilateral symmetry, manifesting dorsoventral (DV) and organ internal (IN) asymmetry. However, the molecular mechanism controlling IN asymmetry remains largely unclear. Here, we used a comparative mapping approach to clone SYMMETRIC PETALS 1 (SYP1), which encodes a key regulator of floral organ internal asymmetry. Phylogenetic analysis showed that SYP1 is an ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana LIGHT-DEPENDENT SHORT HYPOCOTYL 3 (LSH3), an ALOG (Arabidopsis LSH1 and Oryza G1) family transcription factor. Genetic analysis and physical interaction assays showed that COCHLEATA (COCH, Arabidopsis BLADE-ON-PETIOLE ortholog), a known regulator of compound leaf and nodule identity in pea, is involved in organ internal asymmetry and interacts with SYP1. COCH and SYP1 had similar expression patterns and COCH and SYP1 target to the nucleus. Furthermore, our results suggested that COCH represses the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of SYP1 and regulates its abundance. Our study suggested that the COCH-SYP1 module plays a pivotal role in floral organ internal asymmetry development in legumes.

Keywords: ALOG family; COCHLEATA; IN asymmetry; LSH3; Pisum sativum; SYMMETRIC PETALS 1

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21114060