Knockout of frataxin gene causes embryo lethality in Arabidopsis

Abstract
The frataxin homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtFH) is a single nuclear‐encoded gene targeted to mitochondria and sharing 65% similarity with animal frataxin. In the present work, we show that the knocking out of AtFH gene causes arrest of Arabidopsis embryo development at the globular stage. Consistently with that, we also show by in situ hybridization that AtFH is expressed, in wt Arabidopsis plants, in ovule primordia as well as in embryos at various stages of development, suggesting a key role of plant frataxin during embryogenesis.