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The Molecular Biology of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria in Chlamydomonas pp 219–231Cite as

Chloroplast Protein Translocation

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Part of the book series: Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration ((AIPH,volume 7))

Summary

The signal hypothesis, first put forth by G. Blobel and B. Dobberstein over 20 years ago, suggested that all proteins had as part of their primary amino acid sequence an amino-terminal region that defined the destination of proteins carrying that signal. This hypothesis has stood the test of numerous experiments and appears to be pertinent to most cellular compartments and proteins within eukaryotes and prokaryotes, including the chloroplast. Studies with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the subject of this chapter, have tested these concepts in live cells and have provided both new findings and the confirmation of in vitro results derived from vascular plants. Proteins synthesized outside the plastid carry chloroplast specific signals, often at their amino terminus. This signal can be removed upon entry of the protein into the chloroplast, but those destined for internal compartments within the plastid also contain additional signals. This sub-organelle targeting information can be removed once the protein is correctly localized. Thus chloroplast sorting is determined by multifunctional signal sequences. Experiments with isolated organelles have defined a number of different energetic parameters that are required for the translocation of proteins with distinct types of signal sequences, and models suggest that multiple mechanisms exist within the chloroplast. C. reinhardtii can be grown either heterotrophically or photoautotrophically thereby allowing for the selection and propagation of mutations that affect the biogenesis of chloroplasts, and thus some that affect protein translocation directly. The genetic analysis of thylakoid protein translocation in C. reinhardtii has revealed at least six loci whose products are involved in the process, and has provided genetic means to dissect those paths in vivo that have been described in isolated organelle studies. While there are likely to be a variety of requirements for the targeting and translocation of proteins to and within the chloroplast, these mechanisms may well share components between apparatuses, and between diverse groups of organisms.

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Abbreviations

Cyt f:

cytochrome f

DHFR:

dihydrofolate reductase

LHCP:

light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein

OEC:

oxygen evolving complex

OEC33, OEC23, OEC17:

33 kDa, 23 kDA and 17 kDa subunits of the oxygen evolving complex

PC:

plastocyanin

Rubisco SSU:

small subunit of ribulose-1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase

SRP54:

54 kDa subunit of the signal recognition particle

Tip:

thylakoid insertion protein

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Developmental Cell and Molecular Biology, LSRC, Duke University, Box 91000, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Mireille C. Perret, Karen K. Bernd & Bruce D. Kohorn

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  1. Mireille C. Perret
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  2. Karen K. Bernd
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  3. Bruce D. Kohorn
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Molecular Biology and Plant Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    J. -D. Rochaix  & M. Goldschmidt-Clermont  & 

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA

    S. Merchant

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© 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Perret, M.C., Bernd, K.K., Kohorn, B.D. (1998). Chloroplast Protein Translocation. In: Rochaix, J.D., Goldschmidt-Clermont, M., Merchant, S. (eds) The Molecular Biology of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria in Chlamydomonas. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48204-5_13

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