Abstract
Plastids are surrounded by envelope membranes that allow compartmentalization of plastids from the cytosol. The envelope structure of plastids is often damaged by abiotic stresses, such as low temperature. Despite the fact that plants somehow acquire the mechanism avoiding the injury of plastid envelope during a process known as cold acclimation, envelope proteins that may protect plastids from freezing injury remain to be characterized. We examined the function of a cold inducible gene encoding a putative plastid protein of unknown function by in vitro and in vivo approaches. Biochemical characterization revealed that this protein is an integral membrane protein that localizes to the inner envelope of plastids. We will also show the contribution of this protein to the freezing tolerance of A.thaliana.
