Arabidopsis thaliana possesses 5 eubacteria-derived and nuclear-encoded genes,
AtFtsZ1-1,
AtFtsZ2-1,
AtFtsZ2-2,
AtMinD1, and
AtMinE1, which are involved in chloroplast division.
AtMinE1 is a homologue of the eubacterial septum site-determining factor
minE. It has been demonstrated that the overexpression of
AtMinE1 in
Arabidopsis leads to the disruption of chloroplast division. To further confirm the role of
AtMinE1 in chloroplast division, we newly constructed antisensetransgenic
Arabidopsis plants with 3 to 4 fold reduced
AtMinE1 expression. Chloroplasts of these lines were reduced in number, but individually enlarged, which indicates retarded chloroplast division. The results of this study demonstrate the requirement for a proper level of
AtMinE1 expression, for normal control of chloroplast division.
View full abstract