Mg-chelatase I subunit 1 and Mg-protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase affect the stomatal aperture in Arabidopsis thaliana

J Plant Res. 2014 Jul;127(4):553-63. doi: 10.1007/s10265-014-0636-0. Epub 2014 May 20.

Abstract

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of stomatal opening and closure, we performed a genetic screen using infrared thermography to isolate stomatal aperture mutants. We identified a mutant designated low temperature with open-stomata 1 (lost1), which exhibited reduced leaf temperature, wider stomatal aperture, and a pale green phenotype. Map-based analysis of the LOST1 locus revealed that the lost1 mutant resulted from a missense mutation in the Mg-chelatase I subunit 1 (CHLI1) gene, which encodes a subunit of the Mg-chelatase complex involved in chlorophyll synthesis. Transformation of the wild-type CHLI1 gene into lost1 complemented all lost1 phenotypes. Stomata in lost1 exhibited a partial ABA-insensitive phenotype similar to that of rtl1, a Mg-chelatase H subunit missense mutant. The Mg-protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase (CHLM) gene encodes a subsequent enzyme in the chlorophyll synthesis pathway. We examined stomatal movement in a CHLM knockdown mutant, chlm, and found that it also exhibited an ABA-insensitive phenotype. However, lost1 and chlm seedlings all showed normal expression of ABA-induced genes, such as RAB18 and RD29B, in response to ABA. These results suggest that the chlorophyll synthesis enzymes, Mg-chelatase complex and CHLM, specifically affect ABA signaling in the control of stomatal aperture and have no effect on ABA-induced gene expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Abscisic Acid / metabolism*
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases / genetics
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis / enzymology*
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Chlorophyll / biosynthesis
  • Methyltransferases / genetics
  • Methyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Mutation
  • Plant Stomata / enzymology*
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Signal Transduction
  • Thermography

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Chlorophyll
  • Abscisic Acid
  • Methyltransferases
  • CHLM protein, Arabidopsis
  • magnesium-protoporphyrin methyltransferase
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases
  • CHLI1 protein, Arabidopsis