Project description:Regulation of expression of genes encoding chloroplast components is critical to the autotrophic plant and never more so than in the cotyledons of the de-etiolating seedling. Many chloroplast proteins are nuclear-encoded and a retrograde signal from the chloroplasts (the Plastid Signal) modulates nuclear transcription. However, not all chloroplast-targeted genes are subject to this control and not all plastid-dependent nuclear genes are chloroplast-targeted. We therefore aim to provide the most comprehensive screen yet of which genes are affected by plastid-signalling. To specifically knock-out positive plastid signalling in light-grown cotyledons, the herbicide Norflurazon (NF) is supplied in the growth medium, causing a carotenoid deficiency that leaves the chloroplasts vulnerable to photobleaching. This blocks the expression of a subset of nuclear genes, such as Lhcb and HEMA1. Two pairs of RNAs will directly compare the transcription in seedlings grown under continuous white light with and without NF. A third RNA will also be compared from a mutant that shows a degree of constitutive positive plastid signalling. These two mutants act synergistically to counteract the effect of NF on nuclear transcription. The gun1,gun5 double mutant maintains a significantly higher level of Lhcb and HEMA1 expression in the presence of photobeached chloroplasts than the NF-treated wild-type. This transcriptome set will therefore complement RNA1 (wild-type+NF) and indicate which of the genes identified from the RNA1/RNA2 comparison are subject to the particular gun1/gun5 plastid signalling pathway(s). The growth of conditions of the seedlings (namely on MS medium supplemented with 1.5% sucrose, for 3 days under continuous WL following 2 days germination in darkness) has been chosen from the results of our own recent studies using Northern blotting techniques that show these conditions to maximise the respective NF and gun mutant effects on Lhcb and HEMA1 gene expression. This experiment is part one of a two-part study to compare the transcriptional output of this NF-affected pathway with that of a newly discovered FR-mediated pathway. A subsequent array experiment will assess the nuclear response as affected by this FR/ phyA-input pathway and the two sets of array data will be compared and contrasted. Note: Col-0 wild-type (NASC code N1092). gun1,gun5 double mutant(obtained from Enriquez Lopez-Juez, Royal Holloway, University of London.(Mochizuki et al. 2001 PNAS 98: 2053-2058). This line cannot be donated by us as it is the IP of Joanne Chory (SALK Institute, USA). Treatment = a herbicide (Norflurazon) application which leads to chloroplast photobleaching and hence down regulation of nuclear genes dependent on plastid signalling from intact chloroplasts. Experimenter name = Alex McCormac Experimenter phone = 023 80594297 Experimenter fax = 023 80594319 Experimenter address = School of Biological Sciences Experimenter address = Division of Cell Sciences Experimenter address = University of Southampton Experimenter address = Bassett Crescent East Experimenter address = Southampton Experimenter zip/postal_code = SO16 7PX Experimenter country = UK Keywords: genetic_modification_design
Project description:Regulation of expression of genes encoding chloroplast components is critical to the autotrophic plant and never more so than in the cotyledons of the de-etiolating seedling. Many chloroplast proteins are nuclear-encoded and a retrograde signal from the chloroplasts (the Plastid Signal) modulates nuclear transcription. However, not all chloroplast-targeted genes are subject to this control and not all plastid-dependent nuclear genes are chloroplast-targeted. We therefore aim to provide the most comprehensive screen yet of which genes are affected by plastid-signalling. To specifically knock-out positive plastid signalling in light-grown cotyledons, the herbicide Norflurazon (NF) is supplied in the growth medium, causing a carotenoid deficiency that leaves the chloroplasts vulnerable to photobleaching. This blocks the expression of a subset of nuclear genes, such as Lhcb and HEMA1. Two pairs of RNAs will directly compare the transcription in seedlings grown under continuous white light with and without NF. A third RNA will also be compared from a mutant that shows a degree of constitutive positive plastid signalling. These two mutants act synergistically to counteract the effect of NF on nuclear transcription. The gun1,gun5 double mutant maintains a significantly higher level of Lhcb and HEMA1 expression in the presence of photobeached chloroplasts than the NF-treated wild-type. This transcriptome set will therefore complement RNA1 (wild-type+NF) and indicate which of the genes identified from the RNA1/RNA2 comparison are subject to the particular gun1/gun5 plastid signalling pathway(s). The growth of conditions of the seedlings (namely on MS medium supplemented with 1.5% sucrose, for 3 days under continuous WL following 2 days germination in darkness) has been chosen from the results of our own recent studies using Northern blotting techniques that show these conditions to maximise the respective NF and gun mutant effects on Lhcb and HEMA1 gene expression. This experiment is part one of a two-part study to compare the transcriptional output of this NF-affected pathway with that of a newly discovered FR-mediated pathway. A subsequent array experiment will assess the nuclear response as affected by this FR/ phyA-input pathway and the two sets of array data will be compared and contrasted. Note: Col-0 wild-type (NASC code N1092). gun1,gun5 double mutant(obtained from Enriquez Lopez-Juez, Royal Holloway, University of London.(Mochizuki et al. 2001 PNAS 98: 2053-2058). This line cannot be donated by us as it is the IP of Joanne Chory (SALK Institute, USA). Treatment = a herbicide (Norflurazon) application which leads to chloroplast photobleaching and hence down regulation of nuclear genes dependent on plastid signalling from intact chloroplasts.
Project description:Regulation of expression of genes encoding chloroplast components is critical to the autotrophic plant and never more so than in the cotyledons of the de-etiolating seedling. Many chloroplast proteins are nuclear-encoded and a retrograde signal from the chloroplasts (the Plastid Signal) modulates nuclear transcription. However, not all chloroplast-targeted genes are subject to this control and not all plastid-dependent nuclear genes are chloroplast-targeted. We therefore aim to provide the most comprehensive screen yet of which genes are affected by plastid-signalling. To specifically knock-out positive plastid signalling in light-grown cotyledons, the herbicide Norflurazon (NF) is supplied in the growth medium, causing a carotenoid deficiency that leaves the chloroplasts vulnerable to photobleaching. This blocks the expression of a subset of nuclear genes, such as Lhcb and HEMA1. Two pairs of RNAs will directly compare the transcription in seedlings grown under continuous white light with and without NF. A third RNA will also be compared from a mutant that shows a degree of constitutive positive plastid signalling. These two mutants act synergistically to counteract the effect of NF on nuclear transcription. The gun1,gun5 double mutant maintains a significantly higher level of Lhcb and HEMA1 expression in the presence of photobeached chloroplasts than the NF-treated wild-type. This transcriptome set will therefore complement RNA1 (wild-type+NF) and indicate which of the genes identified from the RNA1/RNA2 comparison are subject to the particular gun1/gun5 plastid signalling pathway(s). The growth of conditions of the seedlings (namely on MS medium supplemented with 1.5% sucrose, for 3 days under continuous WL following 2 days germination in darkness) has been chosen from the results of our own recent studies using Northern blotting techniques that show these conditions to maximise the respective NF and gun mutant effects on Lhcb and HEMA1 gene expression. This experiment is part one of a two-part study to compare the transcriptional output of this NF-affected pathway with that of a newly discovered FR-mediated pathway. A subsequent array experiment will assess the nuclear response as affected by this FR/ phyA-input pathway and the two sets of array data will be compared and contrasted. Note:; Col-0 wild-type (NASC code N1092). gun1,gun5 double mutant(obtained from Enriquez Lopez-Juez, Royal Holloway, University of London.(Mochizuki et al. 2001 PNAS 98: 2053-2058). This line cannot be donated by us as it is the IP of Joanne Chory (SALK Institute, USA). Treatment = a herbicide (Norflurazon) application which leads to chloroplast photobleaching and hence down regulation of nuclear genes dependent on plastid signalling from intact chloroplasts. Experimenter name = Alex McCormac; Experimenter phone = 023 80594297; Experimenter fax = 023 80594319; Experimenter address = School of Biological Sciences; Experimenter address = Division of Cell Sciences; Experimenter address = University of Southampton; Experimenter address = Bassett Crescent East; Experimenter address = Southampton; Experimenter zip/postal_code = SO16 7PX; Experimenter country = UK Experiment Overall Design: 6 samples were used in this experiment
Project description:Chloroplast function in photosynthesis is essential for plant growth and development. It is well-known that chloroplasts respond to various light conditions, however, it remains poorly understood about how chloroplasts respond to darkness. In this study, we found 90 darkness-responsive proteins in Arabidopsis chloroplasts under 8 h darkness treatment. Most of the proteins are nucleus-encoded, indicating that chloroplast darkness response is closely regulated by the nucleus. Among them, 17 ribosome proteins were obviously reduced after darkness treatment. The protein expressional patterns and physiological characters revealed the mechanisms in chloroplasts in response to darkness, e.g., (1) inhibition of photosystem II resulted in preferential cyclic electron flow around PSI; (2) promotion of starch degradation; (3) inhibition of chloroplastic translation; and (4) regulation by redox and jasmonate signaling. The results have improved our understanding of molecular regulatory mechanisms in chloroplasts under darkness.
Project description:Blue Native-PAGE resolves protein complexes in their native state. When coupled with immunoblotting, it can be used to identify the presence of high molecular weight complexes at high resolution for any protein, given a suitable antibody. To identify proteins in high molecular weight complexes on a large-scale and to bypass the requirement for specific antibodies, we applied a tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) approach to BN-PAGE-resolved chloroplasts. Fractionation of wild-type chloroplasts into 6 bands allowed identification and label-free quantification of 1000 chloroplast proteins with native molecular weight resolution. Significantly, our approach achieves a depth of identification comparable to traditional shotgun proteomic analyses of chloroplasts, indicating much of the known chloroplast proteome is amenable to our ‘mass western’ approach to BN-PAGE. The coupling of BN-PAGE to MS/MS allows for a large-scale comparison of protein complexes between samples and the identification of proteins in high molecular weight complexes. In parallel we have analyzed chloroplasts from a leaf reticulate mutant (re-6) to demonstrate the possibility for comparative analyses. Our results provide a useful resource for the chloroplast community and this strategy is anticipated to be widely adaptable to other sub-cellular compartments.
Project description:The ubiquitin-binding NBR1 autophagy receptor plays a prominent role in recognizing ubiquitylated protein aggregates for vacuolar degradation during macroautophagy. Here, we show that upon exposing Arabidopsis plants to intense light, NBR1 associates with photodamaged chloroplasts independently of ATG7, a core component of the canonical autophagy machinery. NBR1 coats both the surface and interior of chloroplasts which is then followed by direct engulfment of the organelle into the central vacuole via a microautophagy-type process. The relocalization of NBR1 into chloroplasts does not require the chloroplast translocon complexes embedded in the envelope but is instead greatly enhanced by removing the self-oligomerization mPB1 domain of NBR1. The delivery of NBR1-decorated chloroplasts into vacuoles depends on the ubiquitin-binding UBA2 domain of NBR1 but is independent of the E3 ligases SP1 and PUB4, known to direct the ubiquitylation of chloroplast surface proteins. Compared to wild type plants, nbr1 mutants have altered levels of a subset of chloroplast proteins and display abnormal chloroplast density and sizes upon high light exposure. We postulate that, as photodamaged chloroplasts lose envelope integrity, cytosolic ligases reach the chloroplast interior to ubiquitylate thylakoid and stroma proteins which are then recognize by NBR1 for autophagic clearance. This study uncovers a new function of NBR1 in the degradation of damaged chloroplasts by microautophagy.
Project description:Gene expression in plastids of higher plants is dependent on two different transcription machineries, a plastid-encoded bacterial-type RNA polymerase (PEP) and a nuclear-encoded phage-type RNA polymerase (NEP), which recognize distinct types of promoters. The division of labor between PEP and NEP during plastid development and in mature chloroplasts is unclear due to a lack of comprehensive information on promoter usage. Here we present a thorough investigation into the distribution of PEP and NEP promoters within the plastid genome of barley (Hordeum vulgare L). Using a novel differential RNA sequencing approach, which discriminates between primary and processed transcripts, we obtained a genome-wide map of transcription start sites in plastids of mature first leaves. PEP-lacking plastids of the albostrians mutant allowed for the unambiguous identifications of NEP promoters. We observed that the chloroplast genome contains many more promoters than genes. According to our data, most genes (including genes coding for photosynthesis proteins) have both PEP and NEP promoters. We also detected numerous transcription start sites within operons indicating transcriptional uncoupling of genes in polycistronic gene clusters. Moreover, we mapped many transcription start sites in intergenic regions, as well as opposite to annotated genes demonstrating the existence of numerous non-coding RNA candidates.