Abstract
The cotyledons are thought to play crucial role in the development of the plant. They provide the essential energy to develop the true leaves, and recognize the environmental signals, such as light, water and organic compounds for adaptation. The function of cotyledons is not clear. The cotyledons are located in the first step of developmental stage of embryo, and are structurally and functionally different from true leaves.
The wco (WHITE COTYLEDONS) mutant was reported to exhibit an albinophenotype in the cotyledons, but develop normal true leaves. It was characterized to be defective in the maturation of 16S rRNA that is necessary for the translation of chloroplast genes.
There is a remaining question why wco mutation causes abnomality in chloroplasts in a cotyledon-specific manner. We performed genetical and physiological analysis on wco mutant to address the problem.
