The Tomato SlVIPP1 Gene Is Required for Plant Survival Through the Proper Development of Chloroplast Thylakoid Membrane

Abstract

Since membranes play essential roles in all living beings, all cells have developed mechanisms for efficient and fast repair of membrane damage. In Escherichia coli , the Phage shock stress A (PspA) protein is involved in the maintenance of the integrity of its inner membrane in response to the damage produced by exposure to stress conditions. A role in thylakoid membrane maintenance and reorganization has been proposed for Vesicle Inducing Protein in Plastid 1 (VIPP1), the putative PspA ortholog in Arabidopsis thaliana . While some membranes of plant cells have been extensively studied, the biosynthesis and maintenance of chloroplast thylakoid membrane remains poorly known. Here, we report the cloning and functional characterization of the tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) ortholog of Escherichia coli PspA and Arabidopsis thaliana VIPP1 , which we dubbed SlVIPP1 . Our genetic and molecular characterization of slvipp1 , an insertional mutant, allowed us to conclude that the tomato SlVIPP1 gene is needed for development, as Arabidopsis VIPP1 , but not Escherichia coli PspA . Homozygous slvipp1 tomato plants are albino and exhibit early lethality and highly aberrant chloroplast development with almost complete absence of thylakoids. The phenotype of tomato RNAi lines and that of additional slvipp1 alleles generated by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology confirmed that the morphological and histological aberrations shown by slvipp1 homozygotes are caused by VIPP1 lack of function. We also found that tomato SlVIPP1 overexpression does not cause any visible effect on plant morphology and viability. Our work with slvipp1 plants evidences that SlVIPP1 is an essential gene required for tomato survival, since its function is crucial for the proper formation and/or maintenance of thylakoid membranes.

Nanoporous Quercetin-Loaded Silicon-Stabilized Hybrid Lipid Nanoparticles Alleviate Salt Stress in Tomato Plants

“…A0A3Q7IQI8 is annotated as VIPP1, a lipid-binding protein protecting the chloroplast membrane: , the increased abundance in CGS3 is once more indicative of a priming action acting at the level of chloroplasts and preparing the organelles to withstand eventual stresses imposed by abiotic stimuli.…”

“…56 A stimulation of the electron transport chain linked to photosynthetic reactions is confirmed by the increase in A0A3Q7JM05 and K4BZL1, a Rieske domain-containing protein and cytochrome f, respectively, two components of the cytochrome b6f complex. 57 A0A3Q7IQI8 is annotated as VIPP1, a lipid-binding protein protecting the chloroplast membrane: 58,59 the increased abundance in CGS3 is once more indicative of a priming action acting at the level of chloroplasts and preparing the organelles to withstand eventual stresses imposed by abiotic stimuli.…”