WHIRLY1 functions in the control of responses to N-deficiency but not aphid infestation in barley (Hordeum vulgare).

WHIRLY1 is largely targeted to plastids, where it is a major constituent of the nucleoids. To explore WHIRLY1 functions in barley, RNAi-knockdown lines (W1-1, W1-7 and W1-9) that have very low levels of HvWHIRLY1 transcripts were characterized in plants grown under optimal and stress conditions. The W1-1, W1-7 and W1-9 plants were phenotypically similar to the wild type but produced fewer tillers and seeds. Photosynthesis rates were similar in all lines but W1-1, W1-7 and W1-9 leaves had significantly more chlorophyll and less sucrose than the wild type. Transcripts encoding specific sub-sets of chloroplast-localised proteins such as ribosomal proteins, subunits of the RNA polymerase and the thylakoid NADH and cytochrome b6/f complexes were much more abundant in the W1-7 leaves than the wild type. While susceptibility of aphid infestation was similar in all lines, the WHIRLY1-deficient plants showed altered responses to nitrogen deficiency maintaining higher photosynthetic CO2 assimilation rates than the wild type under limiting nitrogen. While all lines showed globally similar low nitrogen-dependent changes in transcripts and metabolites, the increased abundance of FAR-RED IMPAIRED RESPONSE1-like transcripts in nitrogen-deficient W1-7 leaves infers that WHIRLY1 has a role in communication between plastid and nuclear genes encoding photosynthetic proteins during abiotic stress.