This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 19/4/1329    most recent tpc.106.042895v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Plant Cell Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schult, K. Articles by Westhoff, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Schult, K. Articles by Westhoff, P. Agricola Articles by Schult, K. Articles by Westhoff, P.

The Nuclear-Encoded Factor HCF173 Is Involved in the Initiation of Translation of the psbA mRNA in Arabidopsis thaliana^[W]

^a Institut für Entwicklungs und Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
^b Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail karin.meierhoff{at}uni-duesseldorf.de; fax 49-211-81-14871.

To gain insight into the biogenesis of photosystem II (PSII) and to identify auxiliary factors required for this process, we characterized the mutant hcf173 of Arabidopsis thaliana. The mutant shows a high chlorophyll fluorescence phenotype (hcf) and is severely affected in the accumulation of PSII subunits. In vivo labeling experiments revealed a drastically decreased synthesis of the reaction center protein D1. Polysome association experiments suggest that this is primarily caused by reduced translation initiation of the corresponding psbA mRNA. Comparison of mRNA steady state levels indicated that the psbA mRNA is significantly reduced in hcf173. Furthermore, the determination of the psbA mRNA half-life revealed an impaired RNA stability. The HCF173 gene was identified by map-based cloning, and its identity was confirmed by complementation of the hcf phenotype. HCF173 encodes a protein with weak similarities to the superfamily of the short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases. The protein HCF173 is localized in the chloroplast, where it is mainly associated with the membrane system and is part of a higher molecular weight complex. Affinity chromatography of an HCF173 fusion protein uncovered the psbA mRNA as a component of this complex.

Related articles in Plant Cell:

Thylakoid Development from Biogenesis to Senescence, and Ruminations on Regulation

Nancy A. Eckardt
Plant Cell 2007 19: 1135-1138. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Schwarz, I. Elles, J. Kortmann, M. Piotrowski, and J. Nickelsen Synthesis of the D2 Protein of Photosystem II in Chlamydomonas Is Controlled by a High Molecular Mass Complex Containing the RNA Stabilization Factor Nac2 and the Translational Activator RBP40 PLANT CELL, November 1, 2007; 19(11): 3627 - 3639. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]