Plastid translation is required for the expression of nuclear photosynthesis genes in the dark and in roots of the pea lip1 mutant.

The expression of nuclear photosynthesis genes in pea seedlings requires both light and a postulated signal produced by developing plastids. The requirement for the plastid signal for the accumulation of transcripts of Lhcb1, RbcS, PetE, and AtpC genes was investigated in the pea mutant lip1, which shows light-independent photomorphogenic development. Lincomycin and erythromycin, inhibitors of plastid translation, decreased the accumulation of transcripts of nuclear photosynthesis genes in shoots of light-grown wild-type and lip1 seedlings, indicating that the plastid signal is required in the lip1 mutant. Treatment with lincomycin or erythromycin also reduced the accumulation of transcripts in shoots of dark-grown lip1 seedlings, indicating that light is not an obligate requirement for the synthesis or activity of the plastid signal. Lincomycin had a similar effect on the accumulation of Lhcb1 transcripts in dark-grown cop1-4 seedlings of Arabidopsis. Accumulation of transcripts of nuclear photosynthesis genes was also observed in roots of light-grown lip1 seedlings, and this accumulation, which was associated with the development of chloroplasts, was again dependent on plastid translation. The plastid signal therefore regulates the expression of nuclear photosynthesis genes in the dark and in roots of the lip1 mutant.