Maize pentatricopeptide repeat protein DEK41 affects cis-splicing of mitochondrial nad4 intron 3 and is required for normal seed development.

ABSTRACT: The splicing of organelle-encoded mRNA in plants requires proteins encoded in the nucleus. The mechanism of splicing and the factors involved are not well understood. Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are known to participate in such RNA-protein interactions. Maize defective kernel 41 (dek41) is a seedling-lethal mutant that causes developmental defects. In this study, the Dek41 gene was cloned by Mutator tag isolation and allelic confirmation, and was found to encode a P-type PPR protein that targets mitochondria. Analysis of the mitochondrial RNA transcript profile revealed that dek41 mutations cause reduced splicing efficiency of mitochondrial nad4 intron 3. Immature dek41 kernels exhibited severe reductions in complex I assembly and NADH dehydrogenase activity. Up-regulated expre

SUBMITTER: Zhu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685664 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature