Mutations in the plant‐conserved <scp>MTERF9</scp> alter chloroplast gene expression, development and tolerance to abiotic stress in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>

Robles, Pedro; Micol, José Luis; Quesada, Vı́ctor

doi:10.1111/ppl.12307

Cited by 45 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 68 publications

(139 reference statements)

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“…We found that the mterf6 mutants displayed altered sensitivity to salt, osmotic stress, ABA, and moderate heat stress. Unlike the results obtained with other mterf -deficient mutants, such as mda1 and mterf9, which are more insensitive than the wild type to such stresses [4,5], mterf6-2 and mterf6-5 were hypersensitive to the inhibition exerted on germination and seedling establishment by high concentrations of NaCl, mannitol, or ABA. mterf6-2 was always more sensitive than mterf6-5 to the different abiotic stress conditions studied, which is consistent with its more severe morphological phenotype [22].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

“…mTERF6 seemed to play a different role further in vegetative development because the deficient mTERF6 function significantly reduced the sensitivity of roots to the presence of NaCl or ABA in the growth medium. A different susceptibility to salt and ABA during germination and vegetative growth has been previously reported for mutants mda1 and mterf9 [4,5]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…We initiated a bioinformatics and reverse genetics approach in the plant model system Arabidopsis thaliana to identify novel functions involved in the control of gene expression in chloroplasts. We previously identified and characterised two genes, MDA1 [4] and mTERF9 [5], not previously described, which belong to the family of mitochondrial transcription termination factors (mTERFs) [6]. The analysis of the mda1 and mterf9 mutants revealed a connection between chloroplast function and the response to salt stress and ABA in Arabidopsis [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We previously identified and characterised two genes, MDA1 [4] and mTERF9 [5], not previously described, which belong to the family of mitochondrial transcription termination factors (mTERFs) [6]. The analysis of the mda1 and mterf9 mutants revealed a connection between chloroplast function and the response to salt stress and ABA in Arabidopsis [4,5]. For other Arabidopsis mTERF genes besides MDA1 and mTERF9 , a role in acquiring tolerance to salinity ( mTERF10 and mTERF11 ) [7], heat ( SHOT1 ( SUPPRESSOR OF HOT1-4 1 )) [8] or high light ( SOLDAT10 ( SINGLET OXYGEN-LINKED DEATH ACTIVATOR10 ) [9]) has also been reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For other Arabidopsis mTERF genes besides MDA1 and mTERF9 , a role in acquiring tolerance to salinity ( mTERF10 and mTERF11 ) [7], heat ( SHOT1 ( SUPPRESSOR OF HOT1-4 1 )) [8] or high light ( SOLDAT10 ( SINGLET OXYGEN-LINKED DEATH ACTIVATOR10 ) [9]) has also been reported. Accordingly, mda1 and mterf9 are less sensitive to NaCl than the wild type [4,5], mterf10 and mterf11 are salt-hypersensitive [7], whereas shot1 [8] and soldat10 [9] show enhanced heat tolerance and constitutive acclimation to light, respectively. In addition to Arabidopsis, the stm6 mutant ( state transition mutant6 ) of the green algae Chlamydomonas reindhardtii affected in the MOC1 ( mterf-like gene of Chlamydomonas1 ) gene is light sensitive [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Characterization of Arabidopsis mterf6 Mutants Reveals a New Role for mTERF6 in Tolerance to Abiotic Stress

Robles

Navarro-Cartagena

Ferrández‐Ayela

et al. 2018

IJMS

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Exposure of plants to abiotic stresses, such as salinity, cold, heat, or drought, affects their growth and development, and can significantly reduce their productivity. Plants have developed adaptive strategies to deal with situations of abiotic stresses with guarantees of success, which have favoured the expansion and functional diversification of different gene families. The family of mitochondrial transcription termination factors (mTERFs), first identified in animals and more recently in plants, is likely a good example of this. In plants, mTERFs are located in chloroplasts and/or mitochondria, participate in the control of organellar gene expression (OGE), and, compared with animals, the mTERF family is expanded. Furthermore, the mutations in some of the hitherto characterised plant mTERFs result in altered responses to salt, high light, heat, or osmotic stress, which suggests a role for these genes in plant adaptation and tolerance to adverse environmental conditions. In this work, we investigated the effect of impaired mTERF6 function on the tolerance of Arabidopsis to salt, osmotic and moderate heat stresses, and on the response to the abscisic acid (ABA) hormone, required for plants to adapt to abiotic stresses. We found that the strong loss-of-function mterf6-2 and mterf6-5 mutants, mainly the former, were hypersensitive to NaCl, mannitol, and ABA during germination and seedling establishment. Additionally, mterf6-5 exhibited a higher sensitivity to moderate heat stress and a lower response to NaCl and ABA later in development. Our computational analysis revealed considerable changes in the mTERF6 transcript levels in plants exposed to different abiotic stresses. Together, our results pinpoint a function for Arabidopsis mTERF6 in the tolerance to adverse environmental conditions, and highlight the importance of plant mTERFs, and hence of OGE homeostasis, for proper acclimation to abiotic stress.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%