AUTHOR=Lopes Karina L. , Rodrigues Ricardo A. O. , Silva Marcos C. , Braga Wiliane G. S. , Silva-Filho Marcio C. 

TITLE=The Zinc-Finger Thylakoid-Membrane Protein FIP Is Involved With Abiotic Stress Response in Arabidopsis thaliana

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00504

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.00504

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Many plant genes have their expression modulated by stress conditions. Here, we used <italic>Arabidopsis</italic> FtsH5 protease, which expression is regulated by light stress, as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen to search for new proteins involved in the stress response. As a result, we found FIP (FtsH5 Interacting Protein), which possesses an amino proximal cleavable transit peptide, a hydrophobic membrane-anchoring region, and a carboxyl proximal C<sub>4</sub>-type zinc-finger domain. <italic>In vivo</italic> experiments using FIP fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) showed a plastid localization. This finding was corroborated by chloroplast import assays that showed FIP inserted in the thylakoid membrane. <italic>FIP</italic> expression was down-regulated in plants exposed to high light intensity, oxidative, salt, and osmotic stresses, whereas mutant plants expressing low levels of <italic>FIP</italic> were more tolerant to these abiotic stresses. Our data shows a new thylakoid-membrane protein involved with abiotic stress response in <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic>.</p>