A chaperone function of NO CATALASE ACTIVITY1 is required to maintain catalase activity and for multiple stress responses in Arabidopsis.

Catalases are key regulators of reactive oxygen species homeostasis in plant cells. However, the regulation of catalase activity is not well understood. In this study, we isolated an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant, no catalase activity1-3 (nca1-3) that is hypersensitive to many abiotic stress treatments. The mutated gene was identified by map-based cloning as NCA1, which encodes a protein containing an N-terminal RING-finger domain and a C-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat-like helical domain. NCA1 interacts with and increases catalase activity maximally in a 240-kD complex in planta. In vitro, NCA1 interacts with CATALASE2 (CAT2) in a 1:1 molar ratio, and the NCA1 C terminus is essential for this interaction. CAT2 activity increased 10-fold in the presence of NCA1, and zinc ion binding of the NCA1 N terminus is required for this increase. NCA1 has chaperone protein activity that may maintain the folding of catalase in a functional state. NCA1 is a cytosol-located protein. Expression of NCA1 in the mitochondrion of the nca1-3 mutant does not rescue the abiotic stress phenotypes of the mutant, while expression in the cytosol or peroxisome does. Our results suggest that NCA1 is essential for catalase activity.