Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Author Spotlight: Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells
Published on: May 12, 2023
Lipid trafficking at endoplasmic reticulum-chloroplast membrane contact sites
Maryse A Block1, Juliette Jouhet1
1Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire et Végétale, Unité Mixte Recherche 5168, Centre National Recherche Scientifique, Université de Grenoble-Alpes, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et Energies Alternatives, Institut de Recherches en Technologies et Sciences pour le Vivant, 17 Avenue des Martyrs, F-38054 Grenoble, France.
Abstract:
Glycerolipid synthesis in plant cells is characterized by an intense trafficking of lipids between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and chloroplasts. Initially, fatty acids are synthesized within chloroplasts and are exported to the ER where they are used to build up phospholipids and triacylglycerol. Ultimately, derivatives of these phospholipids return to chloroplasts to form galactolipids, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and digalactosyldiacylglycerol, the main and essential lipids of photosynthetic membranes. Lipid trafficking was proposed to transit through membrane contact sites (MCSs) connecting both organelles. Here, we review recent insights into ER-chloroplast MCSs and lipid trafficking between chloroplasts and the ER.
More Related Videos
08:27Visualization and Quantification of Endogenous Intra-Organelle Protein Interactions at ER-Mitochondria Contact Sites by Proximity Ligation Assays
Published on: October 20, 2023
09:12Three-dimensional Characterization of Interorganelle Contact Sites in Hepatocytes using Serial Section Electron Microscopy
Published on: June 9, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Protein Transport to the Inner Chloroplast Membrane
Protein Transport to the Outer Chloroplast Membrane
Two models describe the mechanism of precursor recognition and entry across the outer membrane through the TOC complex. Model 1 suggests the newly synthesized precursor binds to the TOC receptor 159 and forms a complex.
Protein Transport to the Thylakoids
Protein Transport to the Stroma
Protein complexes called the translocon of the outer chloroplast membrane or TOC complex, and the translocon of the inner chloroplast membrane or TIC complex mediate the...
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Membrane Fluidity
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...