Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Evaluation of Fertilization State by Tracing Sperm Nuclear Morphology in Arabidopsis Double Fertilization
Published on: August 29, 2019
Interaction between RNA helicase ROOT INITIATION DEFECTIVE 1 and GAMETOPHYTIC FACTOR 1 is involved in female
Dong Zi Zhu1, Xue Fang Zhao1, Chang Zhen Liu1
1State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China.
Abstract:
ROOT INITIATION DEFECTIVE 1 (RID1) is an Arabidopsis DEAH/RHA RNA helicase. It functions in hypocotyl de-differentiation, de novo meristem formation, and cell specification of the mature female gametophyte (FG). However, it is unclear how RID1 regulates FG development. In this study, we observed that mutations to RID1 disrupted the developmental synchrony and retarded the progression of FG development. RID1 exhibited RNA helicase activity, with a preference for unwinding double-stranded RNA in the 3' to 5' direction. Furthermore, we found that RID1 interacts with GAMETOPHYTIC FACTOR 1 (GFA1), which is an integral protein of the spliceosome component U5 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) particle. Substitution of specific RID1 amino acids (Y266F and T267I) inhibited the interaction with GFA1. In addition, the mutated RID1 could not complement the seed-abortion phenotype of the rid1 mutant. The rid1 and gfa1 mutants exhibited similar abnormalities in pre-mRNA splicing and down-regulated expression of some genes involved in FG development. Our results suggest that an interaction between RID1 and the U5 snRNP complex regulates essential pre-mRNA splicing of the genes required for FG development. This study provides new information regarding the mechanism underlying the FG developmental process.
More Related Videos
09:33An Efficient Method for Quantitative, Single-cell Analysis of Chromatin Modification and Nuclear Architecture in Whole-mount Ovules in Arabidopsis
Published on: June 19, 2014
10:27Functional Characterization of RING-Type E3 Ubiquitin Ligases In Vitro and In Planta
Published on: December 5, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Small GTPases - Ras and Rho
Three regulatory proteins control their activity:
Experimental RNAi
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Cell Signaling in Plants
Restarting Stalled Replication Forks