Characterization of the CRM Gene Family and Elucidating the Function of OsCFM2 in Rice.

Qiang Zhang,Guangheng Zhang,Dali Zeng,Qian Qian,Li Zhu,Zhenyu Gao,Lan Shen,Longbiao Guo,Deyong Ren,Jiang Hu

doi:10.3390/biom10020327

Abstract

The chloroplast RNA splicing and ribosome maturation (CRM) domain-containing proteins regulate the expression of chloroplast or mitochondrial genes that influence plant growth and development. Although 14 CRM domain proteins have previously been identified in rice, there are few studies of these gene expression patterns in various tissues and under abiotic stress. In our study, we found that 14 CRM domain-containing proteins have a conservative motif1. Under salt stress, the expression levels of 14 CRM genes were downregulated. However, under drought and cold stress, the expression level of some CRM genes was increased. The analysis of gene expression patterns showed that 14 CRM genes were expressed in all tissues but especially highly expressed in leaves. In addition, we analyzed the functions of OsCFM2 and found that this protein influences chloroplast development by regulating the splicing of a group I and five group II introns. Our study provides information for the function analysis of CRM domain-containing proteins in rice.

Highlights

The chloroplast RNA splicing and ribosome maturation (CRM) domain proteins play an important role in plant growth and development by influencing RNA-binding activity according to the characteristics and structure of their CRM domains [1,2]
The CRM domain proteins encoded by these genes contained 252–1012 amino acids and their molecular weights were in the range of 27.75–111.29 kDa (Table S2)
The results indicated that the CRM family genes were expressed in all tissues, but high expressed in green tissues, especially in young leaves (YL) and expansion leaves (EL), suggesting that they might function in leaf development in rice (Figure 4)

Summary

Introduction

The chloroplast RNA splicing and ribosome maturation (CRM) domain proteins play an important role in plant growth and development by influencing RNA-binding activity according to the characteristics and structure of their CRM domains [1,2]. Mutations in CRM genes lead to an albino seedling phenotype, developmental delay, or sensitivity to abiotic stress [8,9,10,11] Based on their structure and the count of CRM domains they contain, the CRM family proteins can be divided into four subfamilies: The CRS1 subfamily, CAF subfamily, subfamily 3, and subfamily 4 [1,5]. In A. thaliana, CFM9 belongs to subfamily 3, contains one CRM domain, and influences nad, nad, nad, nad, nad, rps, and cox intron splicing in mitochondria [9]. Both AtmCSF1 and AtmCSF2 contain two CRM domains and are localized in the mitochondria. It has been reported that atcfm mutants show sensitivity to abiotic stress, including cold and salt stress [10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion