Zn(2+)-Dependent Nuclease Is Involved in Nuclear Degradation during the Programmed Cell Death of Secretory Cavity Formation in Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa’ Fruits

Zn(2+)- and Ca(2+)-dependent nucleases exhibit activity toward dsDNA in the four classes of cation-dependent nucleases in plants. Programmed cell death (PCD) is involved in the degradation of cells during schizolysigenous secretory cavity formation in Citrus fruits. Recently, the Ca(2+)-dependent DNase CgCAN was proven to play a key role in nuclear DNA degradation during the PCD of secretory cavity formation in Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa’ fruits. However, whether Zn(2+)-dependent nuclease plays a role in the PCD of secretory cells remains poorly understood. Here, we identified a Zn(2+)-dependent nuclease gene, CgENDO1, from Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa’, the function of which was studied using Zn(2+) ions cytochemical localization, DNase activity assays, in situ hybridization, and protein immunolocalization. The full-length cDNA of CgENDO1 contains an open reading frame of 906 bp that encodes a protein 301 amino acids in length with a S1/P1-like functional domain. CgENDO1 degrades linear double-stranded DNA at acidic and neutral pH. CgENDO1 is mainly expressed in the late stage of nuclear degradation of secretory cells. Further spatiotemporal expression patterns of CgENDO1 showed that CgENDO1 is initially located on the endoplasmic reticulum and then moves into intracellular vesicles and nuclei. During the late stage of nuclear degradation, it was concentrated in the area of nuclear degradation involved in nuclear DNA degradation. Our results suggest that the Zn(2+)-dependent nuclease CgENDO1 plays a direct role in the late degradation stage of the nuclear DNA in the PCD of secretory cavity cells of Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa’ fruits.