YGL138(t), encoding a putative signal recognition particle 54 kDa protein, is involved in chloroplast development of rice

BACKGROUND: Normal development of chloroplast is vitally important to plants, but its biological mechanism is still far from fully being understood, especially in rice. RESULTS: In this study, a novel yellow-green leaf mutant, ygl138, derived from Nipponbare (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica) treated by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), was isolated. The mutant exhibited a distinct yellow-green leaf phenotype throughout development, reduced chlorophyll level, and arrested chloroplast development. The phenotype of the ygl138 mutant was caused by a single nuclear gene, which was tentatively designed as YGL138(t). The YGL138(t) locus was mapped to chromosome 11 and isolated into a confined region of 91.8 kb by map-based cloning. Sequencing analysis revealed that, Os11g05552, which was predicted to encode a signal recognition particle 54 kDa (SRP54) protein and act as a chloroplast precursor, had 18 bp nucleotides deletion in the coding region of ygl138 and led to a frameshift. Furthermore, the identity of Os11g05552 was verified by transgenic complementation. CONCLUSIONS: These results are very valuable for further study on YGL138(t) gene and illuminating the mechanism of SRP54 protein involving in chloroplast development of rice. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1939-8433-6-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.