Joachim Forner

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology

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Jan U. Lohmann

Heidelberg University

Stefan Binder

Universität Ulm

Christian Wenzl

Heidelberg University

Ralph Bock

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology

Christophe Gaillochet

Ghent University

Anne Pfeiffer

Heidelberg University

Andrej Miotk

Heidelberg University

Anna Medzihradszky

National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre

Tobias Langenecker

Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology

Etienne H. Meyer

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Cooperative Institutions

Heidelberg University

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Universität Ulm

Max Planck Society

University of Science and Technology of China

Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes

Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences

Université de Strasbourg

Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research

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Correction: Germline-Transmitted Genome Editing in Arabidopsis thaliana Using TAL-Effector-Nucleases

PLoS ONE (2015)

Joachim Forner Anne Pfeiffer Tobias Langenecker Pablo A. Manavella Jan U. Lohmann

The fourth author’s name is spelled incorrectly. The correct name is: Pablo A. Manavella. The correct citation is: Forner J, Pfeiffer A, Langenecker T, Manavella PA, Lohmann JU (2015) Germline-Transmitted Genome Editing in Arabidopsis thaliana Using TAL-Effector-Nucleases. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0121056. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121056

Correct name

10.1371/journal.pone.0133945

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Citations (4)

The mitochondrial ferredoxin-like is essential for the formation of complex I-containing respiratory supercomplexes in Arabidopsis thaliana

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2022)

Helene Röhricht Jonathan Przybyla‐Toscano Joachim Forner Clément Boussardon Olivier Keech

Abstract In eukaryotes, mitochondrial ATP is mainly produced by the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system, which is composed of five multiprotein complexes (complexes I to V). Analyses of the OXPHOS system by native gel electrophoresis revealed an organization of OXPHOS complexes in supercomplexes, but their roles and assembly pathways remain unclear. In this study, we characterized an atypical mitochondrial ferredoxin (mFDX-like). This protein was previously found associated with complex I, being part of the bridge domain linking the matrix and membrane arms of the complex. A phylogenetic analysis suggests that the Arabidopsis thaliana mFDX-like evolved from classical mitochondrial ferredoxin, but it lost one of the cysteines required for the coordination of the iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster essential for the electron transfer function of ferredoxins. Accordingly, our biochemical study shows that AtmFDX-like does not bind an Fe-S cluster, and is therefore unlikely to be involved in electron transfer reactions. To study the function of mFDX-like, we created deletion lines in Arabidopsis using a CRISPR/Cas9 approach. These lines do not show any growth phenotype under standard growth condition. However, the characterization of the OXPHOS system demonstrates that mFDX-like is important for the assembly of complex I, and essential for the formation of complex I-containing supercomplexes. We propose that mFDX-like and the bridge domain are required for the correct conformation of the membrane arm of complex I that is essential for the association of complex I with complex III to form supercomplexes.

Mitochondrial matrix

Mitochondrial respiratory chain

10.1101/2022.09.02.506396

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Citations (3)

Arabidopsis Encodes Four tRNase Z Enzymes

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY (2009)

Giusy Canino Edyta Bocian Nicolas Barbezier Manuel Echeverrı́a Joachim Forner

Functional transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules are a prerequisite for protein biosynthesis. Several processing steps are required to generate the mature functional tRNA from precursor molecules. Two of the early processing steps involve cleavage at the tRNA 5′ end and the tRNA 3′ end. While processing at the tRNA 5′ end is performed by RNase P, cleavage at the 3′ end is catalyzed by the endonuclease tRNase Z. In eukaryotes, tRNase Z enzymes are found in two versions: a short form of about 250 to 300 amino acids and a long form of about 700 to 900 amino acids. All eukaryotic genomes analyzed to date encode at least one long tRNase Z protein. Of those, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is the only organism that encodes four tRNase Z proteins, two short forms and two long forms. We show here that the four proteins are distributed to different subcellular compartments in the plant cell: the nucleus, the cytoplasm, the mitochondrion, and the chloroplast. One tRNase Z is present only in the cytoplasm, one protein is found exclusively in mitochondria, while the third one has dual locations: nucleus and mitochondria. None of these three tRNase Z proteins is essential. The fourth tRNase Z protein is present in chloroplasts, and deletion of its gene results in an embryo-lethal phenotype. In vitro analysis with the recombinant proteins showed that all four tRNase Z enzymes have tRNA 3′ processing activity. In addition, the mitochondrial tRNase Z proteins cleave tRNA-like elements that serve as processing signals in mitochondrial mRNA maturation.

10.1104/pp.109.137950

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Citations (78)

WUSCHEL triggers innate antiviral immunity in plant stem cells

Science (2020)

Haijun Wu Xiaoya Qu Zhicheng Dong Linjie Luo Chen Shao

Stem cells in plants constantly supply daughter cells to form new organs and are expected to safeguard the integrity of the cells from biological invasion. Here, we show how stem cells of the Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem and their nascent daughter cells suppress infection by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). The stem cell regulator WUSCHEL responds to CMV infection and represses virus accumulation in the meristem central and peripheral zones. WUSCHEL inhibits viral protein synthesis by repressing the expression of plant S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent methyltransferases, which are involved in ribosomal RNA processing and ribosome stability. Our results reveal a conserved strategy in plants to protect stem cells against viral intrusion and provide a molecular basis for WUSCHEL-mediated broad-spectrum innate antiviral immunity in plants.

10.1126/science.abb7360

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Citations (92)

Transcript End Mapping and Analysis of RNA Editing in Plant Mitochondria

Methods in molecular biology (2007)

Frank Kempken Nina Bolle Joachim Forner Stefan Binder

Transcription

Nuclear gene

MT-RNR1

10.1007/978-1-59745-365-3_13

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Citations (10)

DNA base editing in nuclear and organellar genomes

Trends in Genetics (2022)

Junjie Tan Joachim Forner Daniel Karcher Ralph Bock

Genome editing continues to revolutionize biological research. Due to its simplicity and flexibility, CRISPR/Cas-based editing has become the preferred technology in most systems. Cas nucleases tolerate fusion to large protein domains, thus allowing combination of their DNA recognition properties with new enzymatic activities. Fusion to nucleoside deaminase or reverse transcriptase domains has produced base editors and prime editors that, instead of generating double-strand breaks in the target sequence, induce site-specific alterations of single (or a few adjacent) nucleotides. The availability of protein-only genome editing reagents based on transcription activator-like effectors has enabled the extension of base editing to the genomes of chloroplasts and mitochondria. In this review, we summarize currently available base editing methods for nuclear and organellar genomes. We highlight recent advances with improving precision, specificity, and efficiency and discuss current limitations and future challenges. We also provide a brief overview of applications in agricultural biotechnology and gene therapy.

Genome Engineering

Guide RNA

10.1016/j.tig.2022.06.015

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Citations (24)

Transcriptional Control of a Plant Stem Cell Niche

Developmental Cell (2010)

Wolfgang Busch Andrej Miotk Federico Ariel Zhong Zhao Joachim Forner

Cell fate determination

Multicellular organism

Polycomb-group proteins

10.1016/j.devcel.2010.03.012

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Citations (211)

A gene for non-specific X-linked mental retardation (MRX55) is located in Xp11.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) (1998)

S. C. Deqaqi Marie Florence N’Guessan Joachim Forner Aziza Sbiti C. Beldjord

Centimorgan

Lod score

Linkage (software)

Genetic linkage

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Citations (10)

RNA PROCESSING FACTOR3 Is Crucial for the Accumulation of MatureccmCTranscripts in Mitochondria of Arabidopsis Accession Columbia

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY (2011)

Christian Jonietz Joachim Forner Tatjana M. Hildebrandt Stefan Binder

Abstract RNA PROCESSING FACTOR1 (RPF1) and RPF2 are pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins involved in 5′ processing of different mitochondrial mRNAs in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Both factors are highly similar to RESTORERS OF FERTILITY (RF), which are part of cytoplasmic male sterility/restoration systems in various plant species. These findings suggest a predominant role of RF-like PPR proteins in posttranscriptional 5′ processing. To further explore the functions of this group of proteins, we examined a number of T-DNA lines carrying insertions in the corresponding PPR genes. This screening identified a nearly complete absence of mature ccmC transcripts in an At1g62930 T-DNA insertion line, a phenotype that could be restored by the introduction of the intact At1g62930 gene into the mutant. The insertion in this nuclear gene, which we now call RPF3, also leads to a severe reduction of the CcmC protein in mitochondria. The analysis of C24/rpf3-1 F2 hybrids lacking functional RPF3 genes revealed that this gene has less influence on the generation of the mature ccmC 5′ transcript end derived from a distinct ccmC 5′ upstream configuration found in mitochondrial DNAs from C24 and other accessions. These data show that a particular function of an RF-like protein is required only in connection with a distinct mtDNA configuration. Our new results further substantiate the fundamental role of RF-like PPR proteins in the posttranscriptional generation of plant mitochondrial 5′ transcript termini.

Pentatricopeptide repeat

Cytoplasmic male sterility

Nuclear gene

10.1104/pp.111.181552

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Citations (61)

Targeted introduction of heritable point mutations into the plant mitochondrial genome

Nature Plants (2022)

Joachim Forner Dennis Kleinschmidt Etienne H. Meyer Axel Fischer Robert Morbitzer

The development of technologies for the genetic manipulation of mitochondrial genomes remains a major challenge. Here we report a method for the targeted introduction of mutations into plant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that we refer to as transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) gene-drive mutagenesis (GDM), or TALEN-GDM. The method combines TALEN-induced site-specific cleavage of the mtDNA with selection for mutations that confer resistance to the TALEN cut. Applying TALEN-GDM to the tobacco mitochondrial nad9 gene, we isolated a large set of mutants carrying single amino acid substitutions in the Nad9 protein. The mutants could be purified to homochondriomy and stably inherited their edited mtDNA in the expected maternal fashion. TALEN-GDM induces both transitions and transversions, and can access most nucleotide positions within the TALEN binding site. Our work provides an efficient method for targeted mitochondrial genome editing that produces genetically stable, homochondriomic and fertile plants with specific point mutations in their mtDNA.

Genome Engineering

Gene targeting

10.1038/s41477-022-01108-y

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Citations (36)