The thylakoid membrane protein NTA1 is an assembly factor of the cytochrome b6f complex essential for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis

The cytochrome b_(6f)(Cyt b_(6f))complex is a multisubunit protein complex in chloroplast thylakoid membranes required for photosynthetic electron transport.Here we report the isolation and characterization of the new tiny albino 1(nta1)mutant in Arabidopsis,which has severe defects in Cyt b_(6f) accumulation and chloroplast development.Gene cloning revealed that the nta1 phenotype was caused by disruption of a single nuclear gene,NTA1,which encodes an integral thylakoid membrane protein conserved across green algae and plants.Overexpression of NTA1 completely rescued the nta1 phenotype,and knockout of NTA1 in wild-type plants recapitulated the mutant phenotype.Loss of NTA1 function severely impaired the accumulation of multiprotein complexes related to photosynthesis in thylakoid membranes,particularly the components of Cyt b_(6f).NTA1 was shown to directly interact with four subunits(Cyt b6/PetB,PetD,PetG,and PetN)of Cyt b_(6f) through the DUF1279 domain and C-terminal sequence to mediate their assembly.Taken together,our results identify NTA1 as a new and key regulator of chloroplast development that plays essential roles in assembly of the Cyt b_(6f) complex by interacting with multiple Cyt b_(6f) subunits.

Induction of Apoptosis in Purified Nuclei from Tobacco-Suspension Cells by Cytochrome b_6/f Complex

An apoptotic cell-free system containing cytosol and nuclei from normally cultured tobacco sus-pension cells was used to show that a spinach chloroplast preparation can induce apoptosis in nuclei, evi-denced by DNA electrophoresis and fluorescence microscopy observations. Further study showed that the chloroplast preparation or its pellet (thylakoid membrane) after hypoosmotic or supersonic treatment still ex-hibited the apoptosis-inducing activity, but the supernatant had no effect, which indicates that the apoptosis-inducing effector in the chloroplast preparation is water-insoluble. The induction of apoptosis by chloroplast preparation could be attenuated by Ac-DEVD-CHO, the specific inhibitor of Caspase-3, implying involve-ment of a Caspase-3-like protease during the process. Furthermore, extensive apoptosis in nuclei was in-duced by cytochrome b6/f on the thylakoid membrane, indicating that this important cytochrome complex may have an important role in the chloroplast-related apoptotic pathway.