A Role for Peroxisomes in Photomorphogenesis and Development of Arabidopsis

Abstract

The nuclear protein DET1 is a central repressor of photomorphogenesis in plants. We have identified the molecular lesion in ted3 , a mutation that dominantly suppresses the phenotypes of det1-1 . TED3 encodes a peroxisomal protein (AtPex2p) essential for Arabidopsis growth. Developmental defects and the abnormal expression of many genes in det1 are rescued by ted3 . ted3 also partially suppresses another pleiotropic de-etiolated mutant cop1 . Thus, peroxisomes, whose functions are still largely unexplored, play a key role in a photomorphogenetic pathway negatively regulated by the DET1 and COP proteins.