Pinelopi Moutesidi

INTRODUCTION The WHIRLY protein family comprises few plant-specific proteins sharing the eponymous single-stranded (ss)-DNA-binding domain Whirly (Desveaux et al., 2000, 2002). The members of this family have the ability to bind preferentially to ssDNA but can also bind to dsDNA and RNA (Cappadocia et al., 2010; Desveaux et al., 2002). Each WHIRLY protein contains an N-terminal organelle target peptide (OTP), which targets them into either mitochondria or chloroplasts.

Abstract WHIRLY1 belongs to a family of plant-specific transcription regulators capable of binding DNA or RNA in all three plant cell compartments containing genetic materials. In Arabidopsis thaliana, WHIRLY1 has been studied at the later stages of plant development, including flowering and leaf senescence, as well as in biotic and abiotic stress responses. In this study, novel WHIRLY1 knock-out mutants of A.