An Arabidopsis mutant able to green after extended dark periods shows decreased transcripts of seed protein genes and altered sensitivity to abscisic acid

An Arabidopsis mutant showing an altered ability to green on illumination after extended periods of darkness has been isolated in a screen for genomes uncoupled (gun) mutants. Following illumination for 24 h, 10-day-old dark-grown mutant seedlings accumulated five times more chlorophyll than wild-type seedlings and this was correlated with differences in plastid morphology observed by transmission electron microscopy. The mutant has been named greening after extended darkness 1 (ged1). Microarray analysis showed much lower amounts of transcripts of genes encoding seed storage proteins, oleosins, and late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins in 7-day-old seedlings of ged1 compared with the wild type. RNA gel-blot analyses confirmed very low levels of transcripts of seed protein genes in ged1 seedlings grown for 2–10 d in the dark, and showed higher amounts of transcripts of photosynthesis-related genes in illuminated 10-day-old dark-grown ged1 seedlings compared with the wild type. Consensus elements similar to abscisic acid (ABA) response elements (ABREs) were detected in the upstream regions of all genes highly affected in ged1. Germination of ged1 seeds was hypersensitive to ABA, although no differences in ABA content were detected in 7-day-old seedlings. This suggests the mutant may have an altered responsiveness to ABA, affecting expression of ABA-responsive genes and plastid development during extended darkness.