An ABA-regulated putative RNA-binding protein affects seed germination of Arabidopsis under ABA or abiotic stress conditions

Diverse RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have increasingly been determined to perform crucial roles in posttranscriptional regulation of RNA metabolism during plant response to abscisic acid (ABA) or abiotic stresses, but the functional roles of a variety of ABA-responsive RBPs in ABA and stress response remain poorly understood. Here, we characterized an ABA-regulated putative RBP (At3g54770) in Arabidopsis thaliana, designated ARP1, for its role in response to ABA or abiotic stresses. The expression of ARP1 was markedly downregulated by ABA, and ARP1 is localized to the nucleus. Interestingly, both overexpression and knockout of ARP1 resulted in delayed seed germination under ABA, high salt, or dehydration stress conditions. The identical phenotypes of ARP1-overexpressing plants and the arp1 null mutant indicate that a tight regulation of ARP1 transcript is required for normal function. Transcript levels of several germination-responsive genes were modulated by ARP1 under ABA. Taken together, the results of the present study demonstrate that ARP1 affects ABA-regulated seed germination of Arabidopsis, and indicate that the regulation of posttranscriptional RNA metabolism is critical in plant response to ABA or abiotic stresses.