Abstract
The CRUMPLED LEAF (CRL) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a novel protein located on the envelope membrane of chloroplast. A mutant of the crl gene shows abnormalities in the protein import into plastid in root and leaf primordia cells. Besides that, the crl shows pleiotropic abnormalities such as distortion of cell division plane, cell differentiation, and enlargement of plastids. To elucidate the function of the CRL, we have screened the CRL interacting proteins (CRIPs) by the yeast two-hybrid screening and identified 6 putative CRIPs. When these CRIPs except for CRIP6 were fused with GFP and expressed in mesophyll cells in Arabidopsis, CRIP2 and CRIP5 were localized in chloroplast. This result indicated that CRIP2 and CRIP5 are good candidates for CRIPs. CRIP2 and CRIP5 encoded a DnaJ homologue and a novel protein containing two putative transmembrane domains, respectively.
