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Day A, Goldschmidt-Clermont M. The chloroplast transformation toolbox: selectable markers and marker removal. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2011; 9:540-53. [PMID: 21426476 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2011.00604.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Plastid transformation is widely used in basic research and for biotechnological applications. Initially developed in Chlamydomonas and tobacco, it is now feasible in a broad range of species. Selection of transgenic lines where all copies of the polyploid plastid genome are transformed requires efficient markers. A number of traits have been used for selection such as photoautotrophy, resistance to antibiotics and tolerance to herbicides or to other metabolic inhibitors. Restoration of photosynthesis is an effective primary selection method in Chlamydomonas but can only serve as a screening tool in flowering plants. The most successful and widely used markers are derived from bacterial genes that inactivate antibiotics, such as aadA that confers resistance to spectinomycin and streptomycin. For many applications, the presence of a selectable marker that confers antibiotic resistance is not desirable. Efficient marker removal methods are a major attraction of the plastid engineering tool kit. They exploit the homologous recombination and segregation pathways acting on chloroplast genomes and are based on direct repeats, transient co-integration or co-transformation and segregation of trait and marker genes. Foreign site-specific recombinases and their target sites provide an alternative and effective method for removing marker genes from plastids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anil Day
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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2
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Advances in chloroplast engineering. J Genet Genomics 2009; 36:387-98. [PMID: 19631913 DOI: 10.1016/s1673-8527(08)60128-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2009] [Revised: 04/30/2009] [Accepted: 05/04/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The chloroplast is a pivotal organelle in plant cells and eukaryotic algae to carry out photosynthesis, which provides the primary source of the world's food. The expression of foreign genes in chloroplasts offers several advantages over their expression in the nucleus: high-level expression, transgene stacking in operons and a lack of epigenetic interference allowing stable transgene expression. In addition, transgenic chloroplasts are generally not transmitted through pollen grains because of the cytoplasmic localization. In the past two decades, great progress in chloroplast engineering has been made. In this paper, we review and highlight recent studies of chloroplast engineering, including chloroplast transformation procedures, controlled expression of plastid transgenes in plants, the expression of foreign genes for improvement of plant traits, the production of biopharmaceuticals, metabolic pathway engineering in plants, plastid transformation to study RNA editing, and marker gene excision system.
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Lutz KA, Maliga P. Construction of marker-free transplastomic plants. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2007; 18:107-14. [PMID: 17339108 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2007.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2007] [Revised: 02/05/2007] [Accepted: 02/23/2007] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Because of its prokaryotic-type gene expression machinery, maternal inheritance and the opportunity to express proteins at a high level, the plastid genome (plastome or ptDNA) is an increasingly popular target for engineering. The ptDNA is present as up to 10,000 copies per cell, making selection for marker genes essential to obtain plants with uniformly transformed ptDNA. However, the marker gene is no longer desirable when homoplastomic plants are obtained. Marker-free transplastomic plants can now be obtained with four recently developed protocols: homology-based excision via directly repeated sequences, excision by phage site-specific recombinanses, transient cointegration of the marker gene, and the cotransformation-segregation approach. Marker excision technology will benefit applications in agriculture and in molecular farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry A Lutz
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020, USA
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Kramzar LM, Mueller T, Erickson B, Higgs DC. Regulatory sequences of orthologous petD chloroplast mRNAs are highly specific among Chlamydomonas species. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2006; 60:405-22. [PMID: 16514563 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-005-4477-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2005] [Accepted: 10/24/2005] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The 5' untranslated regions (UTR) of chloroplast mRNAs often contain regulatory sequences that control RNA stability and/or translation. The petD chloroplast mRNA in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has three such essential regulatory elements in its 362-nt long 5' UTR. To further analyze these elements, we compared 5' UTR sequences from four Chlamydomonas species (C. reinhardtii, C. incerta, C. moewusii and C. eugametos) and five independent strains of C. reinhardtii. Overall, these petD 5' UTRs have relatively low sequence conservation across these species. In contrast, sequences of the three regulatory elements and their relative positions appear partially conserved. Functionality of the 5' UTRs was tested in C. reinhardtii chloroplasts using beta-glucuronidase reporter genes, and the nearly identical C. incerta petD functioned for mRNA stability and translation in C. reinhardtii chloroplasts while the more divergent C. eugametos petD did not. This identified what may be key features in these elements. We conclude that these petD regulatory elements, and possibly the corresponding trans-acting factors, function via mechanisms highly specific and surprisingly sensitive to minor sequence changes. This provides a new and broader perspective of these important regulatory sequences that affect photosynthesis in these algae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn M Kramzar
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI 53141, USA
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5
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Rumeau D, Bécuwe-Linka N, Beyly A, Carrier P, Cuiné S, Genty B, Medgyesy P, Horvath E, Peltier G. Increased zinc content in transplastomic tobacco plants expressing a polyhistidine-tagged Rubisco large subunit. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2004; 2:389-99. [PMID: 17168886 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2004.00083.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Rubisco is a hexadecameric enzyme composed of two subunits: a small subunit (SSU) encoded by a nuclear gene (rbcS), and a large subunit (LSU) encoded by a plastid gene (rbcL). Due to its high abundance, Rubisco represents an interesting target to express peptides or small proteins as fusion products at high levels. In an attempt to modify the plant metal content, a polyhistidine sequence was fused to Rubisco, the most abundant protein of plants. Plastid transformation was used to express a polyhistidine (6x) fused to the C-terminal extremity of the tobacco LSU. Transplastomic tobacco plants were generated by cotransformation of polyethylene glycol-treated protoplasts using two vectors: one containing the 16SrDNA marker gene, conferring spectinomycin resistance, and the other the polyhistidine-tagged rbcL gene. Homoplasmic plants containing L8-(His)6S8 as a single enzyme species were obtained. These plants contained normal Rubisco amounts and activity and displayed normal photosynthetic properties and growth. Interestingly, transplastomic plants accumulated higher zinc amounts than the wild-type when grown on zinc-enriched media. The highest zinc increase observed exceeded the estimated chelating ability of the polyhistidine sequence, indicating a perturbation in intracellular zinc homeostasis. We discuss the possibility of using Rubisco to express foreign peptides as fusion products and to confer new properties to higher plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Rumeau
- CEA Cadarache, Direction des Sciences du Vivant, Département d'Ecophysiologie Végétale et de Microbiologie, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6191 CNRS-CEA-Université de la Méditerranée, France.
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Xiong L, Sayre RT. Engineering the chloroplast encoded proteins of chlamydomonas. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2004; 80:411-9. [PMID: 16328837 DOI: 10.1023/b:pres.0000030458.98624.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Over a decade ago (1988), John Boynton and colleagues successfully transformed the chloroplast genome of chlamydomonas for the first time by complementation of a chloroplast deletion mutant. Since the first demonstration of chloroplast transformation the function and structure of many chloroplast encoded subunits of the photosynthetic apparatus has been characterized by site-directed mutagenesis. With the completion of the sequencing of the Chlamydomonas chloroplast genome the genetic tools are now in hand to characterize structure-function relationships for each of the chloroplast-encoded proteins of the photosynthetic apparatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Xiong
- Department of Plant Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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8
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Leister D, Schneider A. From Genes to Photosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CYTOLOGY 2003; 228:31-83. [PMID: 14667042 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7696(03)28002-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Although photosynthesis in higher plants is of cyanobacterial descent, it differs strikingly in organization and regulation from the prokaryotic process. Genomics, proteomics, and comparative genome analysis are now providing powerful new tools for the molecular dissection of photosynthesis in higher plants. Mutant screens and reverse genetics identify an increasing number of gene-function relationships that have a bearing on photosynthesis, revealing a marked interdependency between photosynthesis and other cellular processes. Photosynthesis-related functions are mostly located in the chloroplast, but can also be located in other compartments of the plant cell. The analysis by DNA-array hybridization of mRNA expression patterns both in the chloroplast and the nucleus, under various environmental conditions and/or in different genetic backgrounds that affect the function of the plastid, is rapidly improving our understanding of how photosynthesis is regulated, and it reveals that plastid-to-nucleus signaling plays a central role in its control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Leister
- Abteilung für Pflanzenzüchtung und Ertragsphysiologie, Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, D-50829 Köln, Germany
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Preiss S, Schrader S, Johanningmeier U. Rapid, ATP-dependent degradation of a truncated D1 protein in the chloroplast. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY 2001; 268:4562-9. [PMID: 11502218 DOI: 10.1046/j.1432-1327.2001.02383.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The D1 protein constitutes one of the reaction center subunits of photosystem II and turns over rapidly due to photooxidative damage. Here, we studied the degradation of a truncated D1 protein. A plasmid with a precise deletion in the reading frame of the psbA gene encoding D1 was introduced into the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. A homoplasmic mutant containing the desired gene was able to synthesize the truncated form of the polypeptide, but could not accumulate significant levels of it. As a consequence, other central photosystem II subunits did not assemble within the thylakoid membrane. In vivo pulse-chase experiments showed that the abnormal D1 protein is rapidly degraded in the light. Degradation was delayed in the light in the presence of an uncoupler, or when cells were incubated in the dark. Pulse-chase experiments performed in vitro indicate that an ATP and metal-dependent protease is responsible for the breakdown process. The paper describes the first in vivo and in vitro functional test for ATP-dependent degradation of a defect polypeptide in chloroplasts. The possible involvement of proteases similar to those removing abnormal proteins in prokaryotic organisms is discussed on the basis of proteases recently identified in chloroplasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Preiss
- Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Pflanzenphysiologie, Halle-Saale, Germany
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10
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Abstract
Transformation of the plastid genome has a number of inherent advantages for the engineering of gene expression in plants. These advantages include: 10-50 times higher transgene expression levels; the absence of gene silencing and position effect variation; the ability to express polycistronic messages from a single promoter; uniparental plastid gene inheritance in most crop plants that prevents pollen transmission of foreign DNA; integration via a homologous recombination process that facilitates targeted gene replacement and precise transgene control; and sequestration of foreign proteins in the organelle which prevents adverse interactions with the cytoplasmic environment. It is now 12 years since the first conclusive demonstration of stable introduction of cloned DNA into the Chlamydomonas chloroplast by the Boynton and Gillham laboratory, and 10 years since the laboratory of Pal Maliga successfully extended these approaches to tobacco. Since then, technical developments in plastid transformation and advances in our understanding of the rules of plastid gene expression have facilitated tremendous progress towards the goal of establishing the chloroplast as a feasible platform for genetic modification of plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- P B Heifetz
- Novartis Agribusiness Biotechnology Research, Inc., 3054 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2257, USA.
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Majeran W, Wollman FA, Vallon O. Evidence for a role of ClpP in the degradation of the chloroplast cytochrome b(6)f complex. THE PLANT CELL 2000; 12:137-50. [PMID: 10634913 PMCID: PMC140220 DOI: 10.1105/tpc.12.1.137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/1999] [Accepted: 11/15/1999] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the ClpP protease is encoded by an essential chloroplast gene. Mutating its AUG translation initiation codon to AUU reduced ClpP accumulation to 25 to 45% of that of the wild type. Both the mature protein and the putative precursor containing its insertion sequence were present in reduced amounts. Attenuation of ClpP did not affect growth rates under normal conditions but restricted the ability of the cells to adapt to elevated CO(2) levels. It also affected the rate of degradation of the cytochrome b(6)f complex of the thylakoid membrane in two experimental situations: (1) during nitrogen starvation, and (2) in mutants deficient in the Rieske iron-sulfur protein. The ClpP level also controls the steady state accumulation of a mutated version of the Rieske protein. In contrast, attenuation of ClpP did not rescue the fully unassembled subunits in other cytochrome b(6)f mutants. We conclude that proteolytic disposal of fully or partially assembled cytochrome b(6)f is controlled by the Clp protease.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Majeran
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) UPR 1261, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, F-75005 Paris, France
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Hippler M, Redding K, Rochaix JD. Chlamydomonas genetics, a tool for the study of bioenergetic pathways. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 1998; 1367:1-62. [PMID: 9784589 DOI: 10.1016/s0005-2728(98)00136-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M Hippler
- Departments of Molecular Biology and Plant Biology, University of Geneva, 30 Quai Ernest Ansermet, 1211 Geneva-4, Switzerland
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Andronis C, Kruse O, Deák Z, Vass I, Diner BA, Nixon PJ. Mutation of residue threonine-2 of the D2 polypeptide and its effect on photosystem II function in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 1998; 117:515-24. [PMID: 9625704 PMCID: PMC34971 DOI: 10.1104/pp.117.2.515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/1997] [Accepted: 02/19/1998] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The D2 polypeptide of the photosystem II (PSII) complex in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is thought to be reversibly phosphorylated. By analogy to higher plants, the phosphorylation site is likely to be at residue threonine-2 (Thr-2). We have investigated the role of D2 phosphorylation by constructing two mutants in which residue Thr-2 has been replaced by either alanine or serine. Both mutants grew photoautotrophically at wild-type rates, and noninvasive biophysical measurements, including the decay of chlorophyll fluorescence, the peak temperature of thermoluminescence bands, and rates of oxygen evolution, indicate little perturbation to electron transfer through the PSII complex. The susceptibility of mutant PSII to photoinactivation as measured by the light-induced loss of PSII activity in whole cells in the presence of the protein-synthesis inhibitors chloramphenicol or lincomycin was similar to that of wild type. These results indicate that phosphorylation at Thr-2 is not required for PSII function or for protection from photoinactivation. In control experiments the phosphorylation of D2 in wild-type C. reinhardtii was examined by 32P labeling in vivo and in vitro. No evidence for the phosphorylation of D2 in the wild type could be obtained. [14C]Acetate-labeling experiments in the presence of an inhibitor of cytoplasmic protein synthesis also failed to identify phosphorylated (D2.1) and nonphosphorylated (D2.2) forms of D2 upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Our results suggest that the existence of D2 phosphorylation in C. reinhardtii is still in question.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Andronis
- Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AY, United Kingdom.
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Zito F, Kuras R, Choquet Y, Kössel H, Wollman FA. Mutations of cytochrome b6 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii disclose the functional significance for a proline to leucine conversion by petB editing in maize and tobacco. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1997; 33:79-86. [PMID: 9037161 DOI: 10.1023/a:1005734809834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
We have introduced a proline codon in place of a leucine codon at position 204 of the petB gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This gene modification mimics the presence of proline codons at the same position in the petB genes of maize and tobacco, which are subsequently edited to leucine codons at the RNA level. Following transformation, we observed no editing at this position in C. reinhardtii, independent of the type of proline codon we have used: the CCA codon, edited in maize, or a CCT codon. Strains carrying the introduced mutation were non phototrophic and displayed a block in photosynthetic electron transfer, consistent with a lack of cytochrome b6f activity. Thus the presence of a proline residue at position 204 in cytochrome b6 is detrimental to photosynthesis. We show that the mutant phenotype arose from a defective assembly of cytochrome b6f complexes and not from altered electron transfer properties in the assembled protein complex. Biochemical comparison of the proline-containing transformants with a cytochrome b6 mutant deficient in heme-attachment indicates that their primary defect is at the level of assembly of apocytochrome b6 with the bh heme, thereby preventing assembly of the whole cytochrome b6f complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Zito
- UPR 9072, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Paris, France
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15
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Giorgi LB, Nixon PJ, Merry SA, Joseph DM, Durrant JR, De Las Rivas J, Barber J, Porter G, Klug DR. Comparison of primary charge separation in the photosystem II reaction center complex isolated from wild-type and D1-130 mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. J Biol Chem 1996; 271:2093-101. [PMID: 8567665 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.271.4.2093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
We compare primary charge separation in a photosystem II reaction center preparation isolated from a wild-type (WT) control strain of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and from two site-directed mutants of Synechocystis in which residue 130 of the D1 polypeptide has been changed from a glutamine to either a glutamate (mutant D1-Gln130Glu), as in higher plant sequences, or a leucine residue (mutant D1-Gln130Leu). The D1-130 residue is thought to be close to the pheophytin electron acceptor. We show that, when P680 is photoselectively excited, the primary radical pair state P680+Ph- is formed with a time constant of 20-30 ps in the WT and both mutants; this time constant is very similar to that observed in Pisum sativum (a higher plant). We also show that a change in the residue at position D1-130 causes a shift in the peak of the pheophytin Qx-band. Nanosecond and picosecond transient absorption measurements indicate that the quantum yield of radical pair formation (phi RP), associated with the 20-30-ps component, is affected by the identify of the D1-130 residue. We find that, for the isolated photosystem II reaction center particle, phi RP higher plant > phi RP D1-Gln130Glu mutant > phi RP WT > phi RP D1-Gln130Leu mutant. Furthermore, the spectroscopic and quantum yield differences we observe between the WT Synechocystis and higher plant photosystem II, seem to be reversed by mutating the D1-130 ligand so that it is the same as in higher plants. This result is consistent with the previously observed natural regulation of quantum yield in Synechococcus PS II by particular changes in the D1 polypeptide amino acid sequence (Clark, A.K., Hurry, V. M., Gustafsson, P. and Oquist, G. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 11985-11989).
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Affiliation(s)
- L B Giorgi
- Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
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Berthold DA, Schmidt CL, Malkin R. The deletion of petG in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii disrupts the cytochrome bf complex. J Biol Chem 1995; 270:29293-8. [PMID: 7493961 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.270.49.29293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The 4-kDa protein encoded by chloroplast petG copurifies with the cytochrome bf complex of spinach and is found in a number of other photosynthetic organisms, including the eukaryotic alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. To determine whether petG is involved in the function or assembly of the cytochrome bf complex, the gene was cloned from C. reinhardtii, excised from the DNA fragment, and replaced with a spectinomycin resistance cassette. A petG deletion strain of C. reinhardtii was then obtained by biolistic transformation. The resulting homoplasmic petG deletion strains are unable to grow photosynthetically, and immunoblot analysis shows markedly decreased levels of cytochrome b6, cytochrome f, the Rieske iron-sulfur protein, and subunit IV. To verify that this phenotype was due to the removal of petG, we also constructed a strain with a deletion in the open reading frame (ORF56), which is found 25 base pairs downstream of petG. The ORF56 deletion strain grew photosynthetically and had wild-type levels of the four major cytochrome bf subunits. We conclude that the absence of the PetG protein affects either the assembly or stability of the cytochrome bf complex in C. reinhardtii.
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Affiliation(s)
- D A Berthold
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720-3102, USA
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Targeted Insertion of Foreign Genes into the Tobacco Plastid Genome without Physical Linkage to the Selectable Marker Gene. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1995. [DOI: 10.1038/nbt0895-791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Webber AN, Bingham SE, Lee H. Genetic engineering of thylakoid protein complexes by chloroplast transformation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 1995; 44:191-205. [PMID: 24307038 DOI: 10.1007/bf00018309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/1994] [Accepted: 03/01/1995] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Chloroplast transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has developed into a powerful tool for studying the structure, function and assembly of thylakoid protein complexes in a eukaryotic organism. In this article we review the progress that is being made in the development of procedures for efficient chloroplast transformation. This focuses on the development of selectable markers and the use of Chlamydomonas mutants, individually lacking thylakoid protein complexes, as recipients. Chloroplast transformation has now been used to engineer all four major thylakoid protein complexes, photosystem II, photosystem I, cytochrome b 6/f and ATP synthase. These results are discussed with an emphasis on new insights into assembly and function of these complexes in chloroplasts as compared with their prokaryotic counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- A N Webber
- Department of Botany and Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis, Arizona State University, Box 871601, 85287-1601, Tempe, AZ, USA
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Alizadeh S, Nixon PJ, Telfer A, Barber J. Isolation and characterisation of the Photosystem two reaction centre complex from a double mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 1995; 43:165-171. [PMID: 24306750 DOI: 10.1007/bf00042974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/1994] [Accepted: 01/30/1995] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A rapid procedure has been developed for the isolation of the photosystem two reaction centre complex (PS II RC) from a double mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, F54-14, which lacks the Photosystem one complex and the chloroplast ATPase. Thylakoid membranes are solubilised with 1.5% (w/v) Triton X-100 and the PS II RC purified by anion-exchange chromatography using TSK DEAE-650(S) (Merck). The complex has a pigment stoichiometry of approximately six chlorophyll a: two pheophytin a: one cytochrome b-559: one to two β-carotene. It photoaccumulates reduced pheophytin and oxidised P680 in the presence of sodium dithionite and silicomolybdate, respectively. Immunoblotting experiments have confirmed the presence of the D1 and D2 polypeptides in this complex. The α-subunit of cytochrome b-559 was identified by N-terminal sequencing. Comparison of the complex with the PS II RC from pea using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that their polypeptide compositions were similar. However, the α-subunit of cytochrome b-559 from C. reinhardtii has a lower apparent molecular weight than the pea counterpart whereas the β-subunit is larger.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Alizadeh
- Photosynthesis Research Group, Centre for Photomolecular Sciences, Biochemistry Department, Wolfson Laboratories, Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, SW7 2AY, London, UK
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Whitelegge JP, Koo D, Diner BA, Domian I, Erickson JM. Assembly of the Photosystem II oxygen-evolving complex is inhibited in psbA site-directed mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Aspartate 170 of the D1 polypeptide. J Biol Chem 1995; 270:225-35. [PMID: 7814379 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.270.1.225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Photosystem II catalyzes the photooxidation of water to molecular oxygen, providing electrons to the photosynthetic electron transfer chain. The D1 and D2 chloroplast-encoded reaction center polypeptides bind cofactors essential for Photosystem II function. Transformation of the chloroplast genome of the eukaryotic green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has allowed us to engineer site-directed mutants in which aspartate residue 170 of D1 is replaced by histidine (D170H), asparagine (D170N), threonine (D170T), or proline (D170P). Mutants D170T and D170P are completely deficient in oxygen evolution, but retain normal (D170T) or 50% (D170P) levels of Photosystem II reaction centers. D170H and D170N accumulate wild-type levels of PSII centers, yet evolve oxygen at rates approximately 45% and 15% those of control cells, respectively. Kinetic analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence in the mutants reveals a specific defect in electron donation to the reaction center. Measurements of oxygen flash yields in D170H show, however, that those reaction centers capable of evolving oxygen function normally. We conclude that aspartate residue 170 of the D1 polypeptide plays a critical role in the initial binding of manganese as the functional chloroplast oxygen-evolving complex is assembled.
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Affiliation(s)
- J P Whitelegge
- Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024
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Minagawa J, Crofts AR. A robust protocol for site-directed mutagenesis of the D1 protein inChlamydomonas reinhardtii: A PCR-splicedpsbA gene in a plasmid conferring spectinomycin resistance was introduced into apsbA deletion strain. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 1994; 42:121-31. [PMID: 24306500 DOI: 10.1007/bf02187123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/1994] [Accepted: 07/12/1994] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we describe a protocol to obtain a site-directed mutants in thepsbA gene ofChlamydomonas reinhardtii, which overcomes several drawbacks of previous protocols, and makes it possible to generate a mutant within a month. Since the large size of the gene, and the presence of four large introns has made molecular genetics of thepsbA gene rather unwieldy, we have spliced all of the exons of thepsbA gene by PCR to facilitate genetic manipulation and sequencing of the gene. The resultant construct (plasmid pBA153, with several unique restriction sites introduced at exon boundaries) carried 1.2 and 1.8 kb intact sequences from the 5'- and 3'-flanking regions, respectively. The plasmid was used to transform a D1-deletion mutant and was found to complement the deletion and restore photosynthetic activity. In addition, a bacterialaadA gene conferring spectinomycin resistance (spe (r)) was inserted downstream of the intron-freepsbA gene, to give construct pBA155. This allowed selection of mutant strains deficient in photosynthesis by using spectinomycin resistance, and eliminated the possibility of selection for revertant strains which is a consequence of having to use photosynthetic activity as a selection pressure. Finally, pBA155 was used to construct pBA157, in which additional restriction sites were inserted to facilitate cassette mutagenesis for generation of mutations in spans thought to be involved in donor-side interactions. AllpsbA deletion strains transformed with intron-freepsbA-aadA constructs encoding the wild-type D1 sequence, and screened on spectinomycin plates for thespe (r) phenotype, were able to grow photosynthetically, and all showed identical kinetics for electron transfer from primary (QA) to secondary quinone (QB) in Photosystem II, as assayed by the decay of the high fluorescence yield on oxidation of the reduced primary acceptor (QA (-)).
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Affiliation(s)
- J Minagawa
- Program in Biophysics, University of Illinois, 156 Davenport Hall, 607 S. Mathews Av., 61801, Urbana, IL, USA
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Bumann D, Oesterhelt D. Purification and characterization of oxygen-evolving photosystem II core complexes from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Biochemistry 1994; 33:10906-10. [PMID: 8086407 DOI: 10.1021/bi00202a009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Oxygen-evolving photosystem II complexes were isolated from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by selective solubilization of thylakoid membranes with dodecyl maltoside followed by density gradient centrifugation and anion-exchange chromatography. In the presence of CaCl2 and K3[Fe(CN)6] the complexes evolved oxygen at rates exceeding 1000 mumol (mg of chl)-1 h-1. The particles contained 40 chlorophylls a and had properties very similar to those of PSII isolated from higher plants. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is now the first organism which can be used for both site-directed mutagenesis and detailed biochemical and biophysical characterization of oxygen-evolving photosystem II. It seems therefore to be an ideal model organism for investigation of structure-function relationships in photosynthetic oxygen evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Bumann
- Department of Membrane Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
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Roffey R, van Wijk K, Sayre R, Styring S. Spectroscopic characterization of tyrosine-Z in histidine 190 mutants of the D1 protein in photosystem II (PSII) in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Implications for the structural model of the donor side of PSII. J Biol Chem 1994. [DOI: 10.1016/s0021-9258(17)37662-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
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Babcock GT. Proteins, radicals, isotopes, and mutants in photosynthetic oxygen evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1993; 90:10893-5. [PMID: 8248188 PMCID: PMC47885 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.90.23.10893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- G T Babcock
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824
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26
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Heiss S, Johanningmeier U. Analysis of a herbicide resistant mutant obtained by transformation of the Chlamydomonas chloroplast. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 1992; 34:311-317. [PMID: 24408782 DOI: 10.1007/bf00033448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/1992] [Accepted: 07/23/1992] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
A herbicide resistant Chlamydomonas double mutant (I219A264) has been obtained by transforming the psbA deletion mutant FuD7 with a cloned psbA gene fragment containing mutations in codons 219 and 264. Copies from both the recipient (FuD7) genome and the genome carrying the mutated psbA gene persist in the transformant. This stable heteroplasmic state appears to be required for photoautotrophic growth. Comparison of resistance profiles for classical and phenol-type inhibitors of the double mutant and the corresponding single mutants demonstrates independent, additive contributions of both amino acids to herbicide binding. The approach chosen here to modify the psbA gene should be useful in those cases where consequences of psbA gene manipulations are not predictable with respect to inhibitor resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Heiss
- Lehrstuhl für Biochemie der Pflanzen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-4630, Bochum, Germany
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Staub JM, Maliga P. Long regions of homologous DNA are incorporated into the tobacco plastid genome by transformation. THE PLANT CELL 1992; 4:39-45. [PMID: 1356049 PMCID: PMC160104 DOI: 10.1105/tpc.4.1.39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the size of flanking DNA incorporated into the tobacco plastid genome alongside a selectable antibiotic resistance mutation. The results showed that integration of a long uninterrupted region of homologous DNA, rather than of small fragments as previously thought, is the more likely event in plastid transformation of land plants. Transforming plasmid pJS75 contains a 6.2-kb DNA fragment from the inverted repeat region of the tobacco plastid genome. A spectinomycin resistance mutation is encoded in the gene of the 16S rRNA and, 3.2 kb away, a streptomycin resistance mutation is encoded in exon II of the ribosomal protein gene rps12. Transplastomic lines were obtained after introduction of pJS75 DNA into leaf cells by the biolistic process and selection for the spectinomycin resistance marker. Homologous replacement of resident wild-type sequences resulted in integration of all, or almost all, of the 6.2-kb plastid DNA sequence from pJS75. Plasmid pJS75, which contains engineered cloning sites between two selectable markers, can be used as a plastid insertion vector.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Staub
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, Piscataway 08855-0759
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28
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Newman SM, Gillham NW, Harris EH, Johnson AM, Boynton JE. Targeted disruption of chloroplast genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. MOLECULAR & GENERAL GENETICS : MGG 1991; 230:65-74. [PMID: 1745243 DOI: 10.1007/bf00290652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
We have developed an efficient procedure for the disruption of Chlamydomonas chloroplast genes. Wild-type C. reinhardtii cells were bombarded with microprojectiles coated with a mixture of two plasmids, one encoding selectable, antibiotic-resistance mutations in the 16S ribosomal RNA gene and the other containing either the atpB or rbcL photosynthetic gene inactivated by an insertion of 0.48 kb of yeast DNA in the coding sequence. Antibiotic-resistant transformants were selected under conditions permissive for growth of non-photosynthetic mutants. Approximately half of these transformants were initially heteroplasmic for copies of the disrupted atpB or rbcL genes integrated into the recipient chloroplast genome but still retained photosynthetic competence. A small fraction of the transformants (1.1% for atpB; 4.3% for rbcL) were nonphotosynthetic and homoplasmic for the disrupted gene at the time they were isolated. Single cell cloning of the initially heteroplasmic transformants also yielded nonphotosynthetic segregants that were homoplasmic for the disrupted gene. Polypeptide products of the disrupted atpB and rbcL genes could not be detected using immunoblotting techniques. We believe that any nonessential Chlamydomonas chloroplast gene, such as those involved in photosynthesis, should be amenable to gene disruption by cotransformation. The method should prove useful for the introduction of site-specific mutations into chloroplast genes and flanking regulatory sequences with a view to elucidating their function.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Newman
- Department of Botany, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706
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