The Arabidopsis At filamentation temperature sensitive (FtsH) metalloprotease gene family comprises 12 members (AtFtsH1-AtFtsH12) , including three pairs of closely related genes that are targeted to chloroplasts (AtFtsH2 and AtFtsH8; AtFtsH1 and AtFtsH5; and AtFtsH7 and AtFtsH9) . FtsH proteases are found in eubacteria, animals and plants and are known to have a crucial role in housekeeping proteolysis of membrane proteins.
