Encodes RPT5b (Regulatory Particle 5b), one of the six AAA-ATPases of the proteasome regulatory particle. Essential for gametophyte development. In Arabidopsis, the RPT5 subunit is encoded by two highly homologous genes, RPT5a and RPT5b. RPT5a and RPT5b show accession-dependent functional redundancy. In Wassilewskija (Ws) accession: mutant alleles of RPT5a displayed 50% pollen lethality, indicating that RPT5a is essential for male gametophyte development. In the Columbia (Col) accession, a rpt5a mutant allele did not display such a phenotype because the RPT5b Col allele complements the rpt5a defect in the male gametophyte, whereas the RPT5b Ws allele does not. Double rpt5a rpt5b mutants in Col background showed a complete male and female gametophyte lethal phenotype.
