Analysis Of The CRUMPLED LEAF That Is Involved In The Plastid Division, Cell Division, And Cell Differentiation In Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

A mutation in the crumpled leaf (crl) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana affects plastid division, planes of cell division, and cell differentiation. The CRUMPLED LEAF is a nuclear-encoded gene that encodes a protein localizing in the outer envelope membrane of plastids. Genes similar to the CRL are present in various plant species and cyanobacteria. However, the CRL shows no similarity to proteins of which functions have been elucidated including ones involved in the plastid division. Our results suggested that the CRL protein is concerned with the protein import into plastid because a GFP protein having a transit peptide was not fully imported into plastids in leaf primordia and root tips. Besides, a protein complex including the CRL contained precursor forms of a couple of chloroplast-targeted proteins. Possible correlations between protein import into plastids and plastid division, cell division, and cell differentiation will be discussed.