Figure 1. The functions of PPR proteins in plants. (
A) The molecular functions of PPR proteins in plant mitochondria and chloroplasts. PPR proteins are encoded by nuclear genes, translated in the cytoplasm, and then imported into mitochondrion or chloroplast to mediate multiple steps of RNA processing. (
B) The main growing and developmental phenotypes of plant mutants of PPR protein-coding genes.
2. Functions of PPR Proteins in Cytoplasmic Male Sterility
Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that presents a defect in the production of viable pollen. CMS is widespread in higher plants, and has been widely used in the production of hybrid seeds and utilization of heterosis in many crop species
[6,7][6][7]. Plant CMS is usually caused by mutations, rearrangements, or recombinations of mitochondrial DNA, and in many instances, male fertility can be restored specifically by restorer-of-fertility (
Rf) genes in the nuclear genome
[8,9][8][9]. To date, more than ten
Rf genes have been cloned and functionally characterized in various crop species, and the majority of them were found to encode PPR protein, including
Rf1a [10],
Rf1b [11],
Rf3 [12],
Rf4 [13],
Rf5 [14],
Rf6 [15] in rice;
Rfo [16],
PPR-B [17],
RsRf3-4 [18],
Rfk1 [19] in radish;
Rf1 [20],
Rf2 [21] in sorghum;
Rfp [22],
Rfn [23] in rapeseed;
Rf-PPR592 [24] in petunia;
BrRfp1 [25] in Chinese cabbage; and
Rfm1 [26] in barley. With the exception of the sorghum
Rf1 [20] and the barely
Rfm1 [26], the PPR-type
Rf genes encode PPR proteins belonging to P class.
Members of P-class PPR proteins mostly function in various post-transcriptional process of organellar RNAs, such as RNA splicing, RNA stabilization, RNA cleavage, and translation
[4,5][4][5]. Proteins encoded by
Rf genes usually target mitochondria and act as fertility restorers by suppressing the production of mitochondrial CMS-inducing proteins
[6,11][6][11]; however, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying fertility restoration by RF proteins is presently unclear. The PPR-type RF proteins have been proposed to rescue fertility by regulating the expression of CMS-conferring genes through the similar molecular mechanisms as that of other PPR proteins. In most of the CMS systems, PPR-type RF proteins bind to the mitochondrial CMS-conferring transcripts and promote their cleavage or degradation
[27]. For example, rice RF1A and RF1B proteins, respectively encoded by
Rf1a and
Rf1b genes, have been considered to restore CMS by processing mitochondrial
orf79 transcript via different mechanisms. RF1A directly binds to and cleaves the
atp6-orf79 transcript at the intercistronic region, whereas RF1B promotes the rapid degradation of the
atp6-orf79 transcript
[10,11][10][11]. The protein encoded by rice
Rf4 gene was reported to suppress
WA352-mediated male sterility by reducing
WA352 transcript levels
[13]. Two rice RF proteins, Rfp and Rfn, are involved in transcript cleavage of
orf224 and
orf222, respectively
[22,23][22][23].
In some CMS systems, PPR-type RF proteins restore the male fertility by impeding the translation or post-translational processing of mitochondrial CMS-inducing proteins. Studies on radish PPR-B revealed that PPR-B protein does not function through cleavage or degradation of the
orf138 mRNA, but rather block its translation by inhibiting either the association with or the progression of mitochondrial ribosomes on the
orf138 mRNA
[17]. Similarly, rice RF3 protein does not affect the abundance of
WA352 transcript but suppresses the accumulation of WA352 protein
[12]. In addition,
Rf1 from sorghum and
Rfm1 from barely encode PPR proteins belonging to PLS class. As PLS-class PPR proteins almost exclusively play a role in RNA editing, it is possible that sorghum
Rf1 and barely
Rfm1 restore pollen fertility by editing
S-orf transcripts or other target RNAs
[8,26][8][26].
CMS was not only an ideal model system to study the interaction between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes but also a useful genetic tool for breeding to exploit hybrid vigor in crops
[27]. Although PPR proteins are involved in the restoration of male fertility, functions of most PPR proteins are still obscure. Therefore, exploring the functions of PPR proteins will contribute to understanding the CMS mechanism and improving molecular breeding in crops.
3. Functions of PPR Proteins in Seed Development
In angiosperm plants, seed development starts with double fertilization of egg and central cells with two sperm cells, which leads to the formation of a diploid embryo and a triploid endosperm, and develops into mature seeds comprising three structures: maternal coat, embryo, and endosperm
[49][28]. Development of embryo and endosperm is well correlated and regulated by numerous distinct proteins involved in many important physiological processes
[50][29], including cell growth, RNA transcription and post-transcriptional processing, etc.
In recent years, more and more genetic and biochemical studies have shown that PPR proteins play important roles in seed development of higher plants, and loss-of-function of these PPR proteins usually leads to defects in embryogenesis and/or endosperm development
[4,51][4][30]. According to the phenotypic expression, seed mutants can be divided into four major classes:
empty pericarp (
emp),
embryo specific (
emb),
defective kernel (
dek), and
small kernel (
smk). A detailed summary of the maize and Arabidopsis seed mutants caused by the functional defects of PPR proteins is provided in
Table 1.
Table 1. Selected functionally characterized PPR proteins essential for seed development in maize and Arabidopsis.
Species |
Subcellular Localization |
Mutant Phenotype |
Protein Name |
PPR Class |
Function(s) |
References |
Maize |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK2 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad1 intron 1 |
[52][31] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK10 |
PLS |
RNA editing, nad3-61, 62, and cox2-550 |
[53][32] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK35 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad4 intron 1 |
[54][33] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK36 |
PLS |
RNA editing, atp4-59, nad7-383, and ccmFN-302 |
[55][34] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK37 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 1 |
[56][35] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK39 |
PLS |
RNA editing, nad3-247 and nad3-275 |
[57][36] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK40 |
PLS |
RNA editing, cox3-314, nad2-26, and nad5-1916 |
[58][37] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK41/ DEK43 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad4 intron 1 and 3 |
[59,[3860]][39] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK46 |
PLS |
RNA editing, D5-C22 of nad7 intron 3 and 4 |
[61][40] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK53 |
PLS |
RNA editing, multiples sites |
[62][41] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK55 |
PLS |
RNA splicing, nad4 intron 1 and 3;RNA editing, multiple sites |
[63][42] |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
DEK605 |
PLS |
RNA editing, nad1-608 |
[64][43] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
SMK1 |
PLS |
RNA editing, nad7-836 |
[65][44] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
SMK4 |
PLS |
RNA editing, cox1-1489 |
[66][45] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
SMK6 |
PLS |
RNA editing, nad1-740, nad4L-110, nad7-739, and mttB-138, 139 |
[67][46] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
ZmSMK9 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad5 intron 1 and 4 |
[68][47] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
PPR2263 |
PLS |
RNA editing, nad5-1550 and cob-908 |
[69][48] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
MPPR6 |
P |
Translation, rps3 mRNA |
[70][49] |
Mitochondrion |
dek/smk |
PPR20 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 3 |
[71][50] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
PPR78 |
P |
RNA stabilization, nad5 mature mRNA |
[72][51] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP4 |
P |
Expression of mitochondrial transcripts |
[73][52] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP5 |
PLS |
RNA editing, multiple sites |
[74][53] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP7 |
PLS |
RNA editing, ccmFN-1553 |
[75][54] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP8 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad1 intron 4, nad2 intron 1, and nad4 intron 1 |
[76][55] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP9 |
PLS |
RNA editing, ccmB-43 and rps4-335 |
[77][56] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP10 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 1 |
[78][57] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP11 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad1 intron 1, 2, 3, and 4 |
[79][58] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP12 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 1, 2, and 4 |
[80][59] |
Chloroplast |
smk |
qKW9 |
PLS |
RNA editing, NdhB-246 |
[81][60] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP16 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 4 |
[82][61] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP17 |
PLS |
RNA editing, ccmFC-799 and nad2-677 |
[83][62] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP18 |
PLS |
RNA editing, atp6-635 and cox2-449 |
[84][63] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP21 |
PLS |
RNA editing, multiple sites |
[85][64] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP32 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad7 intron 2 |
[86][65] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP602 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad4 intron 1 and 3 |
[87][66] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
EMP603 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad1 intron 2 |
[88][67] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
PPR14 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 3, nad7 intron 1 and 2 |
[89][68] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
PPR18 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad4 intron 1 |
[90][69] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
PPR27 |
PLS |
RNA editing, multiple sites |
[91][70] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
PPR101 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad5 intron 1 and 2 |
[92][71] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
PPR231 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad5 intron 1, 2, 3 and nad2 intron 3 |
[92][71] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
PPR-SMR1 |
P |
RNA splicing, multiple introns |
[93][72] |
Chloroplast |
emb |
PPR8522 |
P |
RNA transcription, nearly all chloroplast-encoded genes |
[94][73] |
Chloroplast |
emb |
EMB-7L |
P |
RNA splicing, multiple introns |
[95][74] |
Arabidopsis |
Mitochondrion |
dek |
OTP43 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad1 intron 1 |
[96][75] |
Mitochondrion |
smk |
PPR19 |
P |
RNA stabilization, nad1 mature mRNA |
[97][76] |
Mitochondrion |
emp |
BLX |
PLS |
RNA editing, multiple sites; RNA splicing, nad1 intron 4 and nad2 intron 1 |
[98][77] |
Chloroplast |
emb |
AtPPR2 |
P |
RNA translation |
[99][78] |
Chloroplast |
emb |
ECD2 |
P |
RNA splicing, ndhA, ycf3 intron 1, rps12 intron 2 and clpp intron 2 |
[100][79] |
Chloroplast |
emb |
EMB2654 |
P |
RNA splicing, rps12 intron 1 |
[101][80] |
Mitochondrion |
emb |
EMB2794 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 2 |
[102][81] |
Nucleus |
emb |
GRP23 |
P |
RNA transcription |
[103][82] |
Mitochondrion |
emb |
MID1 |
P |
RNA splicing, nad2 intron 1 |
[104][83] |
Chloroplast |
emb |
PMD3 |
P |
RNA splicing, trnA, ndhB, and clpP-1 |
[105][84] |
Most PPR proteins identified to date are targeted to mitochondria and/or chloroplasts
[4]. The disruption of PPR proteins localized to chloroplasts usually results in the
emb mutants that are defective in embryogenesis, but relatively normal in endosperm development. For instance, PPR8522
[94][73] and EMB-7L
[95][74] in maize and GRP23
[103][82] in Arabidopsis are necessary for embryogenesis, and their mutations lead to arrested embryo development at the transition stage, resulting in an embryo-lethal phenotype. For mitochondrion-targeted PPR proteins, their disruptions mostly cause diverse seed development mutants, including
smk,
dek, and
emp, with different degrees of defects in embryo and endosperm. The loss-of-function of SMK1
[65][44], SMK4
[66][45], SMK6
[67][46], ZmSMK9
[68][47], PPR2263
[69][48], and MPPR6
[70][49] in maize and PPR19
[97][76] in Arabidopsis arrests both embryo and endosperm development, resulting in
smk phenotypes. Some characterized mitochondrion-targeted PPR proteins, such as DEK2
[52][31], DEK10
[53][32], DEK35
[54][33], DEK36
[55][34], DEK37
[56][35], DEK39
[57][36], DEK40
[58][37], DEK41/43
[59[38][39],
60], DEK46
[61][40], and DEK53
[62][41] in maize, are necessary for seed development, and their disruptions result in
dek mutants with arrested development of both the embryo and endosperm at an early stage. Meanwhile, many PPR proteins are targeted to mitochondria and function in development of both embryo and endosperm, and mutations in their encoding genes arrest embryo and endosperm development at early stages and even result in embryo lethality. For example,
Emp5 encodes a mitochondrion-targeted DYW-type PPR protein, the
emp5 mutants exhibit abortion of embryo and endosperm development at early stages in maize
[74][53]. Loss-of-function of the mitochondrial P-type PPR protein EMP10 severely disturbs embryo and endosperm development, resulting in empty pericarp or papery seeds in maize
[78][57]. Additionally, the P-type protein PPR5 was recently identified as a regulator required for endosperm development in rice, the
ppr5 mutants develop small starch grains
[106][85].