Chloroplast division protein ARC3 regulates chloroplast FtsZ-ring assembly and positioning in arabidopsis through interaction with FtsZ2

Plant Cell. 2013 May;25(5):1787-802. doi: 10.1105/tpc.113.111047. Epub 2013 May 28.

Abstract

Chloroplast division is initiated by assembly of a mid-chloroplast FtsZ (Z) ring comprising two cytoskeletal proteins, FtsZ1 and FtsZ2. The division-site regulators ACCUMULATION AND REPLICATION OF CHLOROPLASTS3 (ARC3), MinD1, and MinE1 restrict division to the mid-plastid, but their roles are poorly understood. Using genetic analyses in Arabidopsis thaliana, we show that ARC3 mediates division-site placement by inhibiting Z-ring assembly, and MinD1 and MinE1 function through ARC3. ftsZ1 null mutants exhibited some mid-plastid FtsZ2 rings and constrictions, whereas neither constrictions nor FtsZ1 rings were observed in mutants lacking FtsZ2, suggesting FtsZ2 is the primary determinant of Z-ring assembly in vivo. arc3 ftsZ1 double mutants exhibited multiple parallel but no mid-plastid FtsZ2 rings, resembling the Z-ring phenotype in arc3 single mutants and showing that ARC3 affects positioning of FtsZ2 rings as well as Z rings. ARC3 overexpression in the wild type and ftsZ1 inhibited Z-ring and FtsZ2-ring assembly, respectively. Consistent with its effects in vivo, ARC3 interacted with FtsZ2 in two-hybrid assays and inhibited FtsZ2 assembly in a heterologous system. Our studies are consistent with a model wherein ARC3 directly inhibits Z-ring assembly in vivo primarily through interaction with FtsZ2 in heteropolymers and suggest that ARC3 activity is spatially regulated by MinD1 and MinE1 to permit Z-ring assembly at the mid-plastid.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphatases / genetics
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Chloroplasts / genetics
  • Chloroplasts / metabolism*
  • Immunoblotting
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Mutation
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Polymerization
  • Protein Binding
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

  • ARC3 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • FTSZ protein, Arabidopsis
  • FtsZ1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • MinE1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Adenosine Triphosphatases
  • MinD1 protein, Arabidopsis