Abstract
Ribosomal protein mutations in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) result in a range of specific developmental phenotypes. Why ribosomal protein mutants have specific phenotypes is not fully known, but such defects potentially result from ribosome insufficiency, ribosome heterogeneity, or extraribosomal functions of ribosomal proteins. Here, we report that ovule development is sensitive to the level of Ribosomal Protein L27a (RPL27a) and is disrupted by mutations in the two paralogs RPL27aC and RPL27aB. Mutations in RPL27aC result in high levels of female sterility, whereas mutations in RPL27aB have a significant but lesser effect on fertility. Progressive reduction in RPL27a function results in increasing sterility, indicating a dose-dependent relationship between RPL27a and female fertility. RPL27a levels in both the sporophyte and gametophyte affect female gametogenesis, with different developmental outcomes determined by the dose of RPL27a. These results demonstrate that RPL27aC and RPL27aB act redundantly and reveal a function for RPL27a in coordinating complex interactions between sporophyte and gametophyte during ovule development.
Highlights
Ribosomal protein mutations in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) result in a range of specific developmental phenotypes
To compare the function of RPL27aC and RPL27aB, we examined the phenotypes of transfer DNA (T-DNA) insertion mutations in both genes
Phenotypic differences between ribosomal protein mutants have been reported, and this may be due to different patterns of gene expression or to extraribosomal function of some ribosomal proteins (Falcone Ferreyra et al, 2013)
Summary
Ribosomal protein mutations in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) result in a range of specific developmental phenotypes. RPL27a levels in both the sporophyte and gametophyte affect female gametogenesis, with different developmental outcomes determined by the dose of RPL27a These results demonstrate that RPL27aC and RPL27aB act redundantly and reveal a function for RPL27a in coordinating complex interactions between sporophyte and gametophyte during ovule development. In plants and animals, reduced ribosomal protein function results in specific developmental phenotypes (Byrne, 2009; Warner and McIntosh, 2009; McCann and Baserga, 2013; Terzian and Box, 2013; Tsukaya et al, 2013). It is not known how ribosomal proteins modulate development. This ostensibly reflects a requirement for active ribosome synthesis and sufficient ribosome levels to support morphogenesis of the gametophyte
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