Fibrillin2 in chloroplast plastoglobules participates in photoprotection and jasmonate-induced senescence

Abstract

Fibrillins (FBNs) are the major structural proteins of plastoglobules (PGs) in chloroplasts. PGs are associated with defense against abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as lipid storage. Although FBN2 is abundant in PGs, its independent function under abiotic stress has not yet been identified. In this study, the targeting of FBN2 to PGs was clearly demonstrated using an FBN2-YFP fusion protein. FBN2 showed higher expression in green photosynthetic tissues and was upregulated at the transcriptional level under high-light stress. The photosynthetic capacity of fbn2 knockout mutants generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology decreased rapidly compared with that of wild-type (WT) plants under high-light stress. In addition to the photoprotective function of FBN2, fbn2 mutants had lower levels of plastoquinone-9 and plastochromanol-8. The fbn2 mutants were highly sensitive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and exhibited root growth inhibition and a pale-green phenotype due to reduced chlorophyll content. Consistently, upon MeJA treatment, the fbn2 mutants showed faster leaf senescence and more rapid chlorophyll degradation with decreased photosynthetic ability compared with the WT plants. The results of this study suggest that FBN2 is involved in protection against high-light stress and acts as an inhibitor of jasmonate-induced senescence in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).