CRISPR Untangles Five-Gene Protein that Helps Plants Grow

Scientists at Rice University have uncovered a critical mechanism that allows young plants to manage their energy and grow before they can harness sunlight. Published in Nature Communications, the study reveals how a specific protein regulates the size of peroxisomes—cellular compartments that process stored fatty acids for fuel during the seed-to-seedling stage. This discovery sheds new light on the delicate biological balancing act required for plants to survive their earliest days.

Led by biosciences professor Bonnie Bartel and graduate student Nathan Tharp, the research team focused on a protein family called PEX11. While PEX11 was already known to help peroxisomes divide, the researchers discovered that it also dictates the size changes of these compartments. Normally, peroxisomes expand to process fats and then shrink back down once the seedling begins photosynthesis. Using advanced CRISPR gene-editing technology to manipulate the five genes that encode the protein, the team created mutant plants in which this regulatory system failed, causing the peroxisomes to swell uncontrollably and preventing the plants from effectively using their stored energy.

The findings could have broad implications reaching far beyond the plant kingdom. To test the universality of their discovery, the researchers successfully inserted a yeast version of the protein into mutant plant cells, thereby restoring the oversized peroxisomes to their normal size. Because this regulatory function is preserved across species separated by more than a billion years of evolution, the researchers note that these insights could eventually apply to human cellular health and advanced bioengineering.

For more details, read the article in Rice University News.