Abstract
Eukaryotic homologs of bacterial peptide deformylases were recently found in several vascular plants and may be essential in chloroplast protein processing. Treating tobacco seedlings with the peptide deformylase inhibitor actinonin resulted in leaf chlorosis and reduced growth and development, indicative of a systemic movement of the inhibitor. Photosystem II (PSII) activity was reduced, manifested as a significant decrease in the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II. Accumulation and assembly of nascent D1 protein into PSII monomers was also reduced, eventually leading to PSII disassembly and leaf necrosis. Processing and assembly of D1 protein in tobacco was a major and potentially critical target of peptide deformylase inhibition. These results confirm that N-terminal deformylation is an essential step in the accumulation and assembly of PSII subunit polypeptides in the chloroplasts of vascular plants.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1304-1311 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | American Journal of Botany |
Volume | 91 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2004 |
Keywords
- Actinonin
- D1 protein
- PSII complex
- Peptide deformylase
- Photosynthesis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Genetics
- Plant Science