General control non-repressible 20 (GCN20) functions in root growth by modulating DNA damage repair in Arabidopsis

BACKGROUND: Most ABC transporters are engaged in transport of various compounds, but its subfamily F lacks transmembrane domain essential for chemical transportation. Thus the function of subfamily F remains further elusive. RESULTS: Here, we identified General Control Non-Repressible 20 (GCN20), a member of subfamily F, as new factor for DNA damage repair in root growth. While gcn20–1 mutant had a short primary root with reduced meristem size and cell number, similar primary root lengths were assayed in both wild-type and GCN20::GCN20 gcn20–1 plants, indicating the involvement of GCN20 in root elongation. Further experiments with EdU incorporation and comet assay demonstrated that gcn20–1 displays increased cell cycle arrest at G2/M checkpoint and accumulates more damaged DNA. This is possible due to impaired ability of DNA repair in gcn20–1 since gcn20–1 seedlings are hypersensitive to DNA damage inducers MMC and MMS compared with the wild type plants. This note was further supported by the observation that gcn20–1 is more sensitive than the wild type when subjected to UV treatment in term of changes of both fresh weight and survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that GCN20 functions in primary root growth by modulating DNA damage repair in Arabidopsis. Our study will be useful to understand the functions of non-transporter ABC proteins in plant growth. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-018-1444-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.