SAG12 — Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary

AT5G45890, known as SAG12 (senescence-associated gene 12) on Arabidopsis thaliana chromosome 5, encodes a papain-like cysteine peptidase with thiol endopeptidase activity. The gene is associated with developmental senescence, leaf senescence, and programmed cell death, as well as cadmium-induced cell death and ovule senescence. SAG12 is associated with chlorophyll breakdown, salicylic acid metabolism, cytokinin biosynthesis, and the ascorbate-glutathione cycle. It has been linked to seed yield, nitrogen remobilization, biomass yield, rubisco and protein content, photosynthetic rate, and drought resistance. The protein localizes to senescence-associated vacuoles, lysosomes, the ER, Golgi, and plant-type vacuoles. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to bacterial resistance and resistance to biotrophic pathogens.