RCA — Solanum tuberosum

Summary

PGSC0003DMG400019149, the potato RCA gene on chromosome 10, encodes a rubisco activator protein with ATP hydrolase activity and additional annotated functions including histone acetyltransferase activity, protein folding chaperone activity, and binding to ADP, ATP, mRNA, and histones. The protein localises to chloroplast thylakoid membranes, stroma, and stromules. In potato, RCA is associated with photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic efficiency, CO2 fixation, heat tolerance, leaf senescence, cell death, and lesion formation. It is also linked to traits including starch yield, starch content, sucrose content, reducing sugar content, water use efficiency, and respiration rate. The gene has been associated with responses to light, cold, wounding, and jasmonic acid, as well as with systemic acquired resistance, DNA methylation and demethylation, and gene silencing. Studies of related genes in other species link the RCA family to Rubisco activation, thermotolerance of photosynthesis, circadian regulation, and seed yield.