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Updated: Jun 7, 2026
10:28
Preparation of Chloroplast Sub-compartments from Arabidopsis for the Analysis of Protein Localization by Immunoblotting or Proteomics
Published on: October 19, 2018
Chloroplast division: squeezing the photosynthetic captive.
Shin-Ya Miyagishima1, Yukihiro Kabeya
1Initiative Research Program, Advanced Science Institute, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan. smiyagi@riken.jp
Current Opinion in Microbiology
|November 3, 2010
Summary
Chloroplast division relies on a complex protein machinery, integrating components from ancient cyanobacteria and the host cell. Understanding this machinery reveals its evolution and regulation in eukaryotic cells.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Chloroplasts, originating from cyanobacteria, are vital organelles in eukaryotic cells.
- Chloroplast division ensures their inheritance by daughter cells during cell division.
- A complex protein machinery orchestrates chloroplast division at the division site.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the composition and function of the chloroplast division complex.
- To understand the evolutionary origins of the chloroplast division machinery.
- To investigate how eukaryotic host cells regulate chloroplast division.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of protein components at the chloroplast division site.
- Comparative studies of division machinery in different eukaryotic lineages.
- Investigating the roles of host-derived and endosymbiont-derived proteins.
Main Results:
- The chloroplast division complex comprises both ancestral cyanobacterial and host-derived proteins.
- Key components of the cyanobacterial division machinery are conserved.
- The complex spans both inner and outer chloroplast envelope membranes.
Conclusions:
- The chloroplast division complex evolved through integration of host and endosymbiont components.
- Eukaryotic host cells actively regulate chloroplast division.
- This research provides insights into organelle inheritance and evolution.
Related Concept Videos
01:07Anatomy of Chloroplasts
Green algae and plants, including green stems and unripe fruit, harbor chloroplasts—the vital organelles where photosynthesis takes place. In plants, the highest density of chloroplasts is found in the mesophyll cells of leaves.
01:08The Anatomy of Chloroplasts
Green algae and plants, including green stems and unripe fruit, harbor specialized organelles called chloroplasts to carry out photosynthesis. They coordinate both stages of photosynthesis — the light-dependent reactions and the light-independent reactions. The light-dependent reactions use sunlight to release oxygen and produce chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH, and the light-independent reactions capture CO2 and use ATP and NADPH to produce sugar.
Structure of Chloroplasts
A...
Structure of Chloroplasts
A...
01:32Photosystems
Photosystems are multiprotein complexes that form the functional units of photosynthesis in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. They are found embedded in the membrane of tiny sac-like structures called thylakoids placed inside the chloroplast.
Functioning of Photosystems
Photosystems contain many pigment molecules, such as chlorophylls and carotenoids, arranged in a particular organization across two domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
Functioning of Photosystems
Photosystems contain many pigment molecules, such as chlorophylls and carotenoids, arranged in a particular organization across two domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
01:22Photosystem II
The multi-protein complex photosystem II (PS II) harvests photons and transfers their energy through its bound pigments to its reaction center, and ultimately to photosystem I (PSI) through the electron transport chain. The pigments responsible for caputirng the light energy in photosystems include chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids.
The pigment molecules are arranged across two photosystem domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
The pigment molecules are arranged across two photosystem domains — the antenna complex and the reaction center. The main aim of the pigment molecules...
01:27Photosystem I
Although structurally similar to photosystem II (PSII), photosystem I (PSI) is has a different electron supplier and electron acceptor.
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
Both these photosystems work in concert. An excited electron from PSII is relayed to PSI via an electron transport chain in the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, which is comprised of the carrier molecule plastoquinone, the dual-protein cytochrome complex, and plastocyanin. As electrons move between PSII and PSI, they lose energy and must be re-energized...
01:26Oxygenic Photosynthesis
Oxygenic photosynthesis is a fundamental process in which light energy is harnessed to drive the oxidation of water, leading to the production of molecular oxygen (O₂), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). This process is essential for sustaining aerobic life on Earth and is primarily carried out by cyanobacteria, algae, and plants. The core of oxygenic photosynthesis lies in the thylakoid membranes, where chlorophyll pigments facilitate light...