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PubMed1992

Chloroplast polypeptides synthesized by leaf segments and isolated chloroplasts during senescence in barley.

Starting from senescent barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv Hassan) leaf segments receiving light and hormone treatments affecting senescence, the plastid polypeptides synthesized by isolated chloroplasts and by leaf segments were analyzed by radiolabelling followed SDS-PAGE and fluorography. Among 20 to 30 polypeptides detected, a few were specifically synthesized (by chloroplasts and/or leaf segments) after each senescence treatment. Apparently, the polypeptides labelled in assays with isolated chloroplasts are truly synthesized in vivo, because most of them were also labelled in assays with leaf segments. The comparison of polypeptide profiles, for every senescence treatment, after labelling with isolated chloroplasts or leaf segments, suggests that most plastid polypeptides synthesized during senescence are coded in plastid DNA.

Chloroplasts↗
PubMed1986

Import of proteins into chloroplasts. Membrane integration of a thylakoid precursor protein reconstituted in chloroplast lysates.

Many of the thylakoid membrane proteins of plant and algal chloroplasts are synthesized in the cytosol as soluble, higher molecular weight precursors. These precursors are post-translationally imported into chloroplasts, incorporated into the thylakoids, and proteolytically processed to mature size. In the present study, the process by which precursors are incorporated into thylakoids was reconstituted in chloroplast lysates using the precursor to the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (preLHCP) as a model. PreLHCP inserted into thylakoid membranes, but not envelope membranes, if ATP was present in the reaction mixture. Correct integration into the bilayer was verified by previously documented criteria. Integration could also be reconstituted with purified thylakoid membranes if reaction mixtures were supplemented with a soluble extract of chloroplasts. Several other thylakoid precursor proteins in addition to preLHCP, but no stromal precursor proteins, were incorporated into thylakoids under the described assay conditions. These results suggest that the observed in vitro activity represents in vivo events during the biogenesis of thylakoid proteins.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1986

Regulation of chloroplast-encoded chlorophyll-binding protein translation during higher plant chloroplast biogenesis.

Etioplasts of 5-day-old dark-grown barley seedlings synthesize most of the soluble and membrane proteins found in chloroplasts of illuminated plants. Prominent among these proteins are the large subunit of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase and the alpha- and beta-subunits of the chloroplast ATPase. However, etioplasts do not synthesize four chloroplast-encoded proteins which are major constituents of the chloroplast thylakoid membrane: two chlorophyll apoproteins of photosystem I (68 and 65 kDa) and two chlorophyll apoproteins of photosystem II (47 and 43 kDa). Pulse-labeling experiments show that the lack of radiolabel accumulation in the chlorophyll apoproteins in etioplasts is due to inhibition of synthesis rather than apoprotein instability. Illumination of 5-day-old dark-grown barley selectively induces synthesis of the plastid-encoded chlorophyll apoproteins and proteins of 32, 23, and 21 kDa. Synthesis of the chlorophyll apoproteins was significant in plants illuminated for 15 min and was near maximum by 1 h. The induction of photosystem I chlorophyll apoprotein synthesis was not accompanied by an increase in mRNA for these proteins. These results demonstrate that the synthesis of the plastid-encoded photosystem I chlorophyll apoproteins is blocked at the translational level in dark-grown barley. Translation of the chlorophyll apoproteins is induced rapidly by light with a time course which is similar to the light-dependent formation of chlorophyll from protochlorophyllide.

Chlorophyll↗
PubMed1993

A gene encoding a chloroplast omega-3 fatty acid desaturase complements alterations in fatty acid desaturation and chloroplast copy number of the fad7 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Mutations at the fad7 locus of Arabidopsis thaliana (previously called fadD) cause decreased desaturation of dienoic fatty acids in chloroplast lipids in plants grown at elevated temperatures. This suggested that the fad7 locus encodes a chloroplast omega-3 desaturase that catalyzes the desaturation of lipid-linked 18:2 and 16:2 fatty acids. In order to clone the fad7 gene, it was first genetically mapped relative to the flanking restriction fragment length polymorphism markers 4547 and 2488A on chromosome 3, and yeast artificial chromosomes covering the locus were identified. A putative desaturase cDNA clone that was isolated by low stringency heterologous probing with a cDNA for an endoplasmic reticulum-localized omega-3 desaturase (fad3) hybridized to the yeast artificial chromosomes and could not be resolved from the locus by restriction fragment length polymorphism mapping. Expression of the cDNA in transgenic fad7 mutant plants resulted in restoration of wild type fatty acid composition and suppression of a previously observed effect of the fad7 mutation on chloroplast number, indicating genetic complementation. The structural gene contained seven introns within a coding sequence of 1338 base pairs, which encodes a 446-amino acid polypeptide of 51,172 daltons. The amino-terminal region of the fad7 gene product contained a consensus chloroplast transit peptide. Except for the amino-terminal domain, the deduced amino acid sequence of the fad7 gene product had high homology to the fad3 gene product, indicating that fad7 encodes an omega-3 desaturase and that the two genes arose from a common ancestral gene. There was no apparent effect of growth temperature on the steady-state levels of fad7 mRNA in wild type plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

The 41 kDa protein component of the spinach chloroplast petD mRNA 3' stem-loop:protein complex is a nuclear encoded chloroplast RNA-binding protein.

Spinach chloroplast petD gene encodes subunit IV of the cytochrome b6/f complex. Like many chloroplast mRNAs, the spinach petD mRNA contains a 3'UTR stem-loop structure that determines correct 3' processing of the pre-mRNA and stability of the mature mRNA. RNA-protein interactions with this structure may be involved in the regulation of petD mRNA processing and/or stability. In this report, a spinach chloroplast 41 kD protein has been identified as a component of the petD mRNA 3'stem-loop:protein complex. The 41 kD protein has been purified and four internal peptide sequences were obtained. Based on the peptide sequences, a 585 bp fragment was amplified from a spinach cDNA library by PCR. And, a 1404 bp cDNA clone was then isolated by using the initial PCR fragment as probe. Nucleic acid sequence analysis of the cDNA clone identified an ORF encoding a predicted 36 kD mature protein. An apparent N-terminal transit peptide in the coding region and a 3' poly(A) tail exist in the cDNA clone indicated that this chloroplast protein as nuclear encoded. The mature protein was expressed in E. coli, and the expressed product with a molecular mass of 41 kD was purified. A gel mobility shift assay demonstrated that the expressed 41 kD protein interacts with the petD mRNA 3' UTR to form an RNA-protein complex.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Perturbation of chloroplast DNA amounts and chloroplast gene transmission in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by 5-fluorodeoxyuridine.

5-Fluorodeoxyuridine selectively decreases the rate of chloroplast DNA replication in Chlamydomonas resulting after several generations of growth in equilibrium levels as low as one-seventh of normal. When the maternal parent is treated prior to mating, the decrease of chloroplast DNA appears to perturb the normal maternal transmission of chloroplast genes, dramatically increasing the proportion of exceptional zygotes transmitting chloroplast genes from the paternal parent.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Chloroplast YidC homolog Albino3 can functionally complement the bacterial YidC depletion strain and promote membrane insertion of both bacterial and chloroplast thylakoid proteins.

A new component of the bacterial translocation machinery, YidC, has been identified that specializes in the integration of membrane proteins. YidC is homologous to the mitochondrial Oxa1p and the chloroplast Alb3, which functions in a novel pathway for the insertion of membrane proteins from the mitochondrial matrix and chloroplast stroma, respectively. We find that Alb3 can functionally complement the Escherichia coli YidC depletion strain and promote the membrane insertion of the M13 procoat and leader peptidase that were previously shown to depend on the bacterial YidC for membrane translocation. In addition, the chloroplast Alb3 that is expressed in bacteria is essential for the insertion of chloroplast cpSecE protein into the bacterial inner membrane. Surprisingly, Alb3 is not required for the insertion of cpSecE into the thylakoid membrane. These results underscore the importance of Oxa1p homologs for membrane protein insertion in bacteria and demonstrate that the requirement for Oxa1p homologs is different in the bacterial and thylakoid membrane systems.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed1977

Chloroplast phosphofructokinase: I. Proof of phosphofructokinase activity in chloroplasts.

Ammonium sulfate fractionation of an extract from the leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) produced two fractions of phosphofructokinase activity, the first stimulated by inorganic phosphate and the second inhibited by inorganic phosphate. Only the second fraction was obtained from similar treatment of an extract of isolated spinach chloroplasts. The two fractions differed distinctly with respect to kinetics for the substrate fructose 6-phosphate. Evidence for these two types of phosphofructokinase was also obtained with extracts from the leaves of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), and maize (Zea mays L.), and the glumes of oat (Avena sativa L.), but not from chive (Allium schoenoprasum L.) leaves, pea cotyledons, or pea roots. It was concluded that most leaves contain phosphofructokinase activity in chloroplasts as well as in the cytoplasm. Spinach chloroplast phosphofructokinase activity, which was at least 2.5 mumoles fructose 1,6-bisphosphate formed per mg chlorophyll per hour, did not result from contamination by cytoplasm or by other cellular organelles, and was not detected until after chloroplasts were broken.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1980

Effects of Magnesium on Intact Chloroplasts: I. EVIDENCE FOR ACTIVATION OF (SODIUM) POTASSIUM/PROTON EXCHANGE ACROSS THE CHLOROPLAST ENVELOPE.

Exogenous Mg(2+) (2 millimolar) altered the stromal pH of intact spinach chloroplasts. Without added KCl in the medium, Mg(2+) decreased the stromal pH in the light by approximately 0.3 pH unit. External KCl (25 millimolar) largely prevented the acidification caused by Mg(2+). Effects on the stromal pH were not caused by changes in H(+) pumping across the thylakoid membrane because Mg(2+) had no effect on the light-induced quenching of atebrin fluorescence by intact chloroplasts. However, Mg(2+) affected H(+) fluxes across the envelope. Addition of Mg(2+) to intact chloroplasts in the dark caused a significant acidification of the medium that was dependent on the presence of K(+).External K(+) or Na(+) also prevented the inhibition of CO(2)-dependent O(2) evolution by Mg(2+), whereas choline chloride was less effective. The combination of Mg(2+) and K(+) stimulated O(2) evolution at suboptimal pH, inhibited O(2) evolution at optimal and superoptimal pH, and prevented the inhibition of photosynthesis caused by acetate. In the absence of added K(+), Mg(2+) was most inhibitory to O(2) evolution at suboptimal pH.The results suggested that Mg(2+) activated a reversible (Na(+))K(+)/H(+) exchange across the chloroplast envelope. It is postulated that changes in the stromal pH may explain the inhibition of photosynthesis caused by the presence of exogenous Mg(2+).

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Chloroplast Respiration : A MEANS OF SUPPLYING OXIDIZED PYRIDINE NUCLEOTIDE FOR DARK CHLOROPLASTIC METABOLISM.

A spinach (Spinacia oleracia var. America) chloroplast particle fortified with ferredoxin, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, or ribose-5-phosphate and NADP has been shown to generate NADPH by the oxidation of glyceraldehyde-3 phosphate to glycerate-3-phosphate (PGA) and to reduce ferredoxin with the NADPH. The resulting reduced ferredoxin can reduce O(2) to H(2)O(2), nitrite to ammonia, or protons to H(2). Hydrogen production was the result of adding hydrogenase from Chlamydomonas reinhardii to the chloroplast preparation. The predicted stoichiometry of 1 PGA:1 O(2) in the absence of and 2 PGA:1 O(2) in the presence of catalase was observed indicating H(2)O(2) as the end product of O(2) reduction. The predicted stoichiometry of 3 PGA:1 nitrite:1 ammonia was also observed. A scheme is presented to account for a sustained generation of NADP and ATP necessary for the dissimilation of starch in the darkened chloroplast. The unifying term chloroplast respiration is introduced to account for those reactions in which reduced ferredoxin interacts with physiological acceptors other than NADP or nitrite, hydrogen, or O(2) respiration when nitrite, protons, or O(2) is the ultimate electron acceptor.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Some properties of the chloroplast envelope as revealed by electrophoretic mobility studies of intact chloroplasts.

The electrophoretic mobility of mature spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. var. Americana) chloroplasts sampled over a 7-month period was between -2.03 and -2.45 micrometers per second per volt per centimeter when suspended in a solution containing 1 millimolar CaCl(2). The surface charge density of EDTA-treated chloroplasts was calculated to be -7,400 electrostatic units per square centimeter representing, on the average, one electronic charge per 645 square Angstroms. Electrophoretic mobility increases during plastid maturation. Calcium, but not magnesium, generally stabilized the envelope of isolated plastids against small increases in surface charge that occur with time in the absence of calcium. Pronase caused a sharp, but temporary, decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of chloroplasts. This was interpreted as representing a transient binding of pronase to the envelope surface during proteolysis. No -SH groups were detected on the surface of the plastid envelope. Inasmuch as the isoelectric point of intact chloroplasts was found to be at pH 4.5, it is likely that the major part of the total surface charge results from the presence of exposed carboxyl groups of intrinsic envelope proteins that are not readily hydrolyzed by mild pronase treatment.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1989

The triose phosphate-3-phosphoglycerate-phosphate translocator from spinach chloroplasts: nucleotide sequence of a full-length cDNA clone and import of the in vitro synthesized precursor protein into chloroplasts.

The nucleotide sequence of several cDNA clones coding for the phosphate translocator from spinach chloroplasts has been determined. The cDNA clones were selected from a lambda gt10 library prepared from poly(A)+ mRNA of spinach leaves using oligonucleotide probes modeled from amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides prepared from the isolated translocator protein. A 1439 bp insert of one of the clones codes for the entire 404 amino acid residues of the precursor protein corresponding to a mol. wt of 44,234. The full-length clone includes 21 bp at the transcribed non-coding 5' region with the ribosome initiation sequence ACAATGG, a 1212 bp coding region and 199 bp at the non-coding 3' region excluding the poly(A) tail which starts 17 bp downstream from a putative polyadenylation signal, AATAAT. According to secondary structure predictions the mature part of the chloroplast phosphate translocator exhibits high hydrophobicity and consists of at least seven membrane-spanning segments. Using plasmid-programmed wheat germ lysate the precursor protein was synthesized in vitro and could be imported into spinach chloroplasts where it is inserted into the inner envelope membrane.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

The Rieske Fe/S protein of the cytochrome b6/f complex in chloroplasts: missing link in the evolution of protein transport pathways in chloroplasts?

The Rieske Fe/S protein, a nuclear-encoded subunit of the cytochrome b(6)/f complex in chloroplasts, is retarded in the stromal space after import into the chloroplast and only slowly translocated further into the thylakoid membrane system. As shown by the sensitivity to nigericin and to specific competitor proteins, thylakoid transport takes place by the DeltapH-dependent TAT pathway. The Rieske protein is an untypical TAT substrate, however. It is only the second integral membrane protein shown to utilize this pathway, and it is the first authentic substrate without a cleavable signal peptide. Transport is instead mediated by the NH(2)-terminal membrane anchor, which lacks, however, the twin-arginine motif indicative of DeltapH/TAT-dependent transport signals. Furthermore, transport is affected by sodium azide as well as by competitor proteins for the Sec pathway in chloroplasts, demonstrating for the first time some cross-talk of the two pathways. This might take place in the stroma where the Rieske protein accumulates after import in several complexes of high molecular mass, among which the cpn60 complex is the most prominent. These untypical features suggest that the Rieske protein represents an intermediate or early state in the evolution of the thylakoidal protein transport pathways.

Amino Acid Motifs↗
PubMed2004

The chloroplastic protein translocation channel Toc75 and its paralog OEP80 represent two distinct protein families and are targeted to the chloroplastic outer envelope by different mechanisms.

Toc75 is postulated to form the protein translocation channel in the chloroplastic outer envelope membrane. Proteins homologous to Toc75 are present in a wide range of organisms, with the closest homologs occurring in cyanobacteria. Therefore, an endosymbiotic origin of Toc75 has been postulated. Recently, a gene encoding a paralog to Toc75 was identified in Arabidopsis and its product was named atToc75-V. In the present study, we characterized this new Toc75 paralog, and investigated extensively the relationships among Toc75 homologs from higher plants and bacteria in order to gain insights into the evolutionary origin of the chloroplastic protein translocation channel. First, we found that the native molecular weight of atToc75-V is 80 kDa and renamed it (AtOEP80) Arabidopsis thalianaouter envelope protein of 80 kDa. Second, we found that AtOEP80 and Toc75 utilize different mechanisms for their targeting to the chloroplastic envelope. Toc75 is directed with a cleavable bipartite transit peptide partly via the general import pathway, whereas AtOEP80 contains the targeting information within its mature sequence, and its targeting is independent of the general pathway. Third, we undertook phylogenetic analyses of Toc75 homologs from various organisms, and found that Toc75 and OEP80 represent two independent gene families that are most likely derived from cyanobacterial sequences. Our results suggest that Toc75 and OEP80 diverged early in the evolution of plastids from their common ancestor with modern cyanobacteria.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Chloroplast SecA functions as a membrane-associated component of the Sec-like protein translocase of pea chloroplasts.

Protein cross-linking studies with a thylakoid membrane translocation intermediate were used to demonstrate that chloroplast SecA functions as a membrane-associated component of the Sec-like ATP-dependent protein translocase of pea chloroplasts. In assays with isolated thylakoids, it was observed that translocation of the 33-kDa protein of the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II (OE33) decreased when the ATP concentration was low, and that the protein accumulated as a bound precursor. The bound precursor was able to be translocated into the lumen when the ATP concentration was raised, indicating that the precursor was bound to the translocation apparatus. Inclusion of apyrase in the import reaction prevented translocation but did not affect precursor binding to the membrane. When this translocation intermediate was treated with the cross-linking agent disuccinimidyl suberate, a single predominant cross-linked product of 120 kDa was produced. This conjugate could be immunoprecipitated with antibodies to pea chloroplast SecA, identifying the cross-linking partner as SecA. This provides direct evidence for a functional interaction between a thylakoid precursor protein and a component of the thylakoid protein-translocation apparatus.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1993

Purification of chloroplast elongation factor Tu and cDNA analysis in tobacco: the existence of two chloroplast elongation factor Tu species.

We have purified a chloroplast elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and determined its N-terminal amino acid sequence. Two distinct cDNAs encoding EF-Tu were isolated from a leaf cDNA library of N. sylvestris (the female progenitor of N. tabacum) using an oligonucleotide probe based on the EF-Tu protein sequence. The cDNA sequence and genomic Southern analyses revealed that tobacco chloroplast EF-Tu is encoded by two distinct genes in the nuclear genome of N. sylvestris. We designated the corresponding gene products EF-Tu A and B. The mature polypeptides of EF-Tu A and B are 408 amino acids long and share 95.3% amino acid identity. They show 75-78% amino acid identity with cyanobacterial and chloroplast-encoded EF-Tu species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Import of the precursor of the chloroplast Rieske iron-sulphur protein by pea chloroplasts.

cDNA clones encoding the precursor of the Rieske FeS protein of the chloroplast thylakoid membrane have been isolated from a pea leaf cDNA library in lambda gt 11, following screening with antibodies to purified pea chloroplast Rieske FeS protein. The longest cDNA insert of 880 bp encodes a polypeptide of 230 amino acid residues, of which 50 residues constitute an N-terminal cleavable presequence and 180 residues make up the mature protein. Transcription and translation of the cDNA in vitro produced a polypeptide of 26 kDa which was efficiently imported by isolated pea chloroplasts and processed to the mature 20 kDa protein. Southern hybridisation to pea genomic DNA indicated the presence of a single gene encoding the Rieske FeS protein in the haploid genome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Transfer of defined numbers of chloroplasts into albino protoplasts by subprotoplast/protoplast microfusion: chloroplasts can be "cloned", by using suitable plastome combinations or selective pressure.

Defined numbers (1-5) of (donor) chloroplasts were transferred into (acceptor) protoplasts of plastid albino mutants by subprotoplasts/protoplast microfusion. Single transferred plastids gave rise to new organelle populations in the progeny of the fusion products when suitable combinations of plastomes were used or when selective pressure for the plastome transferred was applied. This process is termed "chloroplast cloning" and is the first reported case of "cloning" a cell organelle. The plastome combination and the presence or absence of selective pressure were found to influence the frequencies with which cell lines, containing both plastomes or acceptor or donor only, were obtained, and the number of cell generations needed for complete segregation - as measured by the duration of culture before the green donor plastome could be detected. The high frequency of cell lines and regenerated shoots recovered with donor plastome only, even when only a single chloroplast was transferred, leads to the conclusion that all organelles present in the fusion product contribute to the organelle population of the progeny, i.e. organelle death or loss are not regularly occurring events during plant regeneration from protoplasts in Nicotiana tabacum.

Cells, Cultured↗