Abstract
To study the functions of novel nuclear-genes involved in chloroplast development and photosynthesis, we systematically analyzed a series of albino or pale green(apg )mutants screened from Ds-transposon tagged lines in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we focused on the apg11 and apg12. The amino acid sequence of APG11 showed 51% identity and 65% similarity with the APG12 in the C-terminal 100 amino acid region. The chloroplast of apg11 contained few internal thylakoid membranes, and the chloroplast proteins related to photosynthesis were not detected in by immunoblot analysis. The N-terminal amino acid region of APG11 and APG12 were predicted to be a transit peptide targeting chloroplast . When the p35S::APG12Tp-GFP chimeric gene introduced into the epidermal cells of A. thaliana leaves by particle bombardment, GFP fluorescence signals were observed in the chloroplast. Those results suggest that the APG11 and APG12 are essential for chloroplast development and thylakoid biogenesis.
