Characterization of a Gene that Responds to Mitochondrial Retrograde Regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

The Rhoads Lab found an Arabidopsis gene (At5g40690) that encodes for a protein similar to yeast ATPase Assembly Proteins (AAPs), which is strongly increased in expression by MRR and during plant stresses such as pathogen attack. Characterization of At5g40690 will be performed by the analysis of knock out (KO) lines, constitutive expressor (CE) lines in comparison to wild-type using northern blots. If this gene is an AAP, then this will be the first AAP in plants to be extensively studied in relation to MRR and stress responses, and will provide researchers with a better understanding of MRR and define a new category of proteins involved in stress response. Findings will give a better understanding of heat stress in crops such as Zea mays.