title: Chloroplast biogenesis: the use of mutants to study the etioplast-chloroplast transition.
abstract: In angiosperm plants, the etioplast-chloroplast transition is light-dependent. A key factor in this process is the protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase A (PORA), which catalyzes the light-induced reduction of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide. The import pathway of the precursor protein prePORA into chloroplasts was analyzed in vivo and in vitro by using homozygous loss-of-function mutants in genes coding for chlorophyllide a oxygenase (CAO) or for members of the outer-envelope solute-channel protein family of 16 kDa (OEP16), both of which have been implied to be key factors for the import of prePORA. Our in vivo analyses show that cao or oep16 mutants contain a normally structured prolamellar body that contains the protochlorophyllide holochrome. Furthermore, etioplasts from cao and oep16 mutants contain PORA protein as found by mass spectrometry. Our data demonstrate that both CAO and OEP16 are dispensable for chloroplast biogenesis and play no central role in the import of prePORA in vivo and in vitro as further indicated by protein import studies.
authors.affiliation: Department Biology I, Botany, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Menzingerstrasse 67, D-80638 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Philippar
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Geis
authors.forename: Iryna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ilkavets
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwenkert
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meurer
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soll
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D002735:Chlorophyllides / Q000378:metabolism; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D010105:Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018462:Photobiology; D021381:Protein Transport; D011521:Protochlorophyllide / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002735:Chlorophyllides; D017931:DNA Primers; D007473:Ion Channels; C512221:OEP16-L protein, Arabidopsis; C512220:OEP16-S protein, Arabidopsis; C046016:chlorophyllide b; C034388:chlorophyllide a; D011521:Protochlorophyllide; D010105:Oxygenases; C115272:chlorophyll a oxygenase