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The Restorer‐of‐fertility‐like 2 pentatricopeptide repeat protein and RN ase P are required for the processing of mitochondrial orf291 RNA in Arabidopsis
Author(s) -
Fujii Sota,
Suzuki Takamasa,
Giegé Philippe,
Higashiyama Tetsuya,
Koizuka Nobuya,
Shikanai Toshiharu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/tpj.13185
Subject(s) - pentatricopeptide repeat , biology , rna , rnase p , microbiology and biotechnology , exoribonuclease , rna binding protein , arabidopsis , genetics , gene , rna editing , mutant
Summary Eukaryotes harbor mitochondria obtained via ancient symbiosis events. The successful evolution of energy production in mitochondria has been dependent on the control of mitochondrial gene expression by the nucleus. In flowering plants, the nuclear‐encoded pentatricopeptide repeat ( PPR ) superfamily proteins are widely involved in mitochondrial RNA metabolism. Here, we show that an Arabidopsis nuclear‐encoded RNA ‐binding protein, Restorer‐of‐fertility‐like PPR protein 2 ( RFL 2), is required for RNA degradation of the mitochondrial orf291 transcript via endonucleolytic cleavage of the transcript in the middle of its reading frame. Both in vivo and in vitro , this RNA cleavage requires the activity of mitochondrial proteinaceous RN ase P, which is possibly recruited to the site by RFL 2. The site of RN ase P cleavage likely forms a tRNA ‐like structure in the orf291 transcript. This study presents an example of functional collaboration between a PPR protein and an endonuclease in RNA cleavage. Furthermore, we show that the RFL 2‐binding region within the orf291 gene is hypervariable in the family Brassicaceae, possibly correlated with the rapid evolution of the RNA ‐recognition interfaces of the RFL proteins.