An auxilin-like J-domain protein, JAC1, regulates phototropin-mediated chloroplast movement in Arabidopsis

Plant Physiol. 2005 Sep;139(1):151-62. doi: 10.1104/pp.105.067371. Epub 2005 Aug 19.

Abstract

The ambient-light conditions mediate chloroplast relocation in plant cells. Under the low-light conditions, chloroplasts accumulate in the light (accumulation response), while under the high-light conditions, they avoid the light (avoidance response). In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the accumulation response is mediated by two blue-light receptors, termed phototropins (phot1 and phot2) that act redundantly, and the avoidance response is mediated by phot2 alone. A mutant, J-domain protein required for chloroplast accumulation response 1 (jac1), lacks the accumulation response under weak blue light but shows a normal avoidance response under strong blue light. In dark-adapted wild-type cells, chloroplasts accumulate on the bottom of cells. Both the jac1 and phot2 mutants are defective in this chloroplast movement in darkness. Positional cloning of JAC1 reveals that this gene encodes a J-domain protein, resembling clathrin-uncoating factor auxilin at its C terminus. The amounts of JAC1 transcripts and JAC1 proteins are not regulated by light and by phototropins. A green fluorescent protein-JAC1 fusion protein showed a similar localization pattern to green fluorescent protein alone in a transient expression assay using Arabidopsis mesophyll cells and onion (Allium cepa) epidermal cells, suggesting that the JAC1 protein may be a soluble cytosolic protein. Together, these results suggest that JAC1 is an essential component of phototropin-mediated chloroplast movement.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / cytology
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis / radiation effects
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Auxilins / chemistry
  • Auxilins / genetics
  • Auxilins / metabolism*
  • Chloroplasts / physiology*
  • Chloroplasts / radiation effects
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Darkness
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Light
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Movement* / radiation effects
  • Mutation
  • Phosphoproteins / genetics
  • Phosphoproteins / metabolism*
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Auxilins
  • F9E10.5 protein, Arabidopsis
  • PHOT2 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Phosphoproteins
  • NPH1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AB158477