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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Studying Protein Import into Chloroplasts Using Protoplasts
Published on: December 10, 2018
Evidence for a protein transported through the secretory pathway en route to the higher plant chloroplast
Arsenio Villarejo1, Stefan Burén, Susanne Larsson
1Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå University, S-90187 Umeå, Sweden.
Abstract:
In contrast to animal and fungal cells, green plant cells contain one or multiple chloroplasts, the organelle(s) in which photosynthetic reactions take place. Chloroplasts are believed to have originated from an endosymbiotic event and contain DNA that codes for some of their proteins. Most chloroplast proteins are encoded by the nuclear genome and imported with the help of sorting signals that are intrinsic parts of the polypeptides. Here, we show that a chloroplast-located protein in higher plants takes an alternative route through the secretory pathway, and becomes N-glycosylated before entering the chloroplast.
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