Double strand break-induced recombination in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplasts

The mechanisms of chloroplast recombination are largely unknown. Using the chloroplast-encoded homing endonuclease I-CreI from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, an experimental system is described that allows the study of double strand break (DSB)-induced recombination in chloroplasts. The I-CreI endonuclease is encoded by the chloroplast ribosomal group I intron of C.reinhardtii and cleaves specifically intronless copies of the large ribosomal RNA (23S) gene. To study DSB-induced recombination in chloroplast DNA, the genes encoding the I-CreI endonuclease were deleted and a target site for I-CreI, embedded in a cDNA of the 23S gene, was integrated at an ectopic location. Endonuclease function was transiently provided by mating the strains containing the recombination substrate to a wild-type strain. The outcome of DSB repair was analyzed in haploid progeny of these crosses. Interestingly, resolution of DSB repair strictly depended upon the relative orientation of the ectopic ribosomal cDNA and the adjacent copy of the 23S gene. Gene conversion was observed when the 23S cDNA and the neighbouring copy of the 23S gene were in opposite orientation, leading to mobilization of the intron to the 23S cDNA. In contrast, arrangement of the 23S cDNA in direct repeat orientation relative to the proximal 23S gene resulted in a deletion between the 23S cDNA and the 23S gene. These results demonstrate that C.reinhardtii chloroplasts have an efficient system for DSB repair and that homologous recombination is strongly stimulated by DSBs in chloroplast DNA.