Seed Longevity is Controlled by Metacaspases

To survive extreme desiccation, seeds enter dormancy that can last millennia. This dormancy involves the accumulation of protective but structurally disordered storage proteins through unknown adjustments of proteolytic surveillance mechanisms. Mutation of all six types II metacaspases (MCAs)-II in the model plant Arabidopsis revealed their essential role in modulating these proteolytic mechanisms. MCA-II mutant seeds fail to properly target at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) the AAA ATPase Cell Division Cycle 48 (CDC48) to dispose of misfolded proteins. MCA-IIs cleave a CDC48 adaptor, the ubiquitination regulatory X domain-containing (PUX) responsible for localizing CDC48 to the lipid droplets. When cleaved, CDC48-PUX is inactivated and allows a lipid droplet-to-ER shuttling of CDC48, an important step in the regulation of seeds’ lifespan. In sum, we uncover antagonism between proteolytic pathways bestowing longevity.