Increased sensitivity to drought stress in <Emphasis Type="Italic">atlon4 Arabidopsis</Emphasis> mutant

The ATP-dependent serine protease Lon belongs to the AAA+ superfamily, which is widely distributed in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic cells. Lon participates in the regulation of numerous physiological processes and gene expression via degrading various unstable and non-native regulators. In this study, we showed that the Arabidopsis atlon4 mutant is more sensitive to drought stress than wild-type plants. Compared with wild-type plants, atlon4 mutant plants showed increased water loss, decreased water use efficiency, and impaired stomatal closure in drought stress conditions.