J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 2021, Vol. 63 ›› Issue (10): 1724-1739.DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13147

Special Issue: Development Temperature signaling

• Molecular Physiology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

CDE4 encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat protein involved in chloroplast RNA splicing and affects chloroplast development under low-temperature conditions in rice

Xinyong Liu1†, Xichun Zhang1,2†, Ruijie Cao1, Guiai Jiao1, Shikai Hu1, Gaoneng Shao1, Zhonghua Sheng1, Lihong Xie1, Shaoqing Tang1, Xiangjin Wei1* and Peisong Hu1*   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Center for Rice Improvement, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
    2 Guizhou Rice Research Institute, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang 550006, China

    These authors contributed equally to this work.
    *Correspondences: Xiangjin Wei (weixiangjin@caas.cn); Peisong Hu (hupeisong@caas.cn, Dr. Hu is fully responsible for the distribution of all materials associated with this article)
  • Received:2021-01-31 Accepted:2021-06-30 Online:2021-07-05 Published:2021-10-01

Abstract: Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins play important roles in the post-transcriptional modification of organellar RNAs in plants. However, the function of most PPR proteins remains unknown. Here, we characterized the rice (Oryza sativa L.) chlorophyll deficient 4 (cde4) mutant which exhibits an albino phenotype during early leaf development, with decreased chlorophyll contents and abnormal chloroplasts at low-temperature (20°C). Positional cloning revealed that CDE4 encodes a P-type PPR protein localized in chloroplasts. In the cde4 mutant, plastid-encoded polymerase (PEP)-dependent transcript levels were significantly reduced, but transcript levels of nuclear-encoded genes were increased compared to wild-type plants at 20°C. CDE4 directly binds to the transcripts of the chloroplast genes rpl2, ndhA, and ndhB. Intron splicing of these transcripts was defective in the cde4 mutant at 20°C, but was normal at 32°C. Moreover, CDE4 interacts with the guanylate kinase VIRESCENT 2 (V2); overexpression of V2 enhanced CDE4 protein stability, thereby rescuing the cde4 phenotype at 20°C. Our results suggest that CDE4 participates in plastid RNA splicing and plays an important role in rice chloroplast development under low-temperature conditions.

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