Description
In addition to its essential metabolic functions biotin is suggested a critical role in regulating gene expression. The first committed enzyme in biotin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis, 7-keto-8-aminopelargonic acid synthase is encoded by At5g04620 (BIO4). We isolated a novel T-DNA insertion mutant of BIO4 (bio4-1) showing a spontaneous cell death phenotype that could be rescued both by exogenous biotin and genetic complementation. The bio4-1 plants exhibited massive accumulation of hydrogen peroxide.