Impacts of phosphatidylglycerol on plastid gene expression and light induction of nuclear photosynthetic genes

The thylakoid phospholipid phosphatidylglycerol is crucial for photosynthesis and plant growth. Impacts of loss of phosphatidylglycerol on expression of nuclear-encoded photosynthesis genes and plastid-encoded genes are demonstrated in Arabidopsis. Phosphatidylglycerol (PG) is the only major phospholipid in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts. PG is essential for photosynthesis, and loss of PG in Arabidopsis thaliana results in severe defects of growth and chloroplast development, with decreased chlorophyll accumulation, impaired thylakoid formation, and down-regulation of photosynthesis-associated genes encoded in nuclear and plastid genomes. However, how the absence of PG affects gene expression and plant growth remains unclear. To elucidate this mechanism, we investigated transcriptional profiles of a PG-deficient Arabidopsis mutant pgp1-2 under various light conditions. Microarray analysis demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive genes were up-regulated in pgp1-2. However, ROS production was not enhanced in the mutant even under strong light, indicating limited impacts of photooxidative stress on the defects of pgp1-2. Illumination to dark-adapted pgp1-2 triggered down-regulation of photosynthesis-associated nuclear-encoded genes (PhANGs), while plastid-encoded genes were constantly suppressed. Overexpression of GOLDEN2-LIKE1 (GLK1), a transcription factor gene regulating chloroplast development, in pgp1-2 up-regulated PhANGs but not plastid-encoded genes along with chlorophyll accumulation. Our data suggest a broad impact of PG biosynthesis on nuclear-encoded genes partially via GLK1 and a specific involvement of this lipid in plastid gene expression and plant development.

Automated summary

Phosphatidylglycerol is crucial for photosynthesis and plant growth. Loss of phosphatidylglycerol affects expression of photosynthesis and plastid genes in Arabidopsis. The absence of phosphatidylglycerol affects gene expression and plant growth through the modulation of reactive oxygen species-responsive genes and the transcription factor GLK1.