Sulfurtransferases 1 and 2 play essential roles in embryo and seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: Sulfurtransferases (STRs) catalyze the transfer of a sulfur atom from a donor to a suitable acceptor molecule. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes 20 putative STR proteins. The biological functions of most are unclear. We found that STR1 and STR2 play important roles in embryo/seed development. Mutation of STR1 alone resulted in a shrunken seed phenotype, although growth and development of vegetative and reproductive organs were not affected. The shrunken seed phenotype was associated with the delayed/arrested embryo development, in most cases, at the heart stage. The embryo defect of str1 mutant is not fully penetrant. Approximately 12.5% of embryos developed further and formed normal looking seeds. In severely shrunken seeds, no embryo could be identified after seed collection. Parti

SUBMITTER: Mao G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3045009 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature