engleski

Exploring the Arabidopsis thylakoid membrane proteins involved in photosynthesis

Abstract: The thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts convert light energy into a stable chemical energy of NADPH and ATP in an exceptional way. Although we are familiar with the proteins and multimeric complexes that are involved in basic photosynthesis pathway, there are numerous proteins with still unknown functions. A large percentage of them are thylakoid membrane proteins. We are using reverse genetics approach to identify novel auxiliary thylakoid components that are included in signaling pathways in photosynthesis. Our current research is focused on elucidating the role of the thylakoid membrane protein TROL (Thylakoid Rhodanese-like) in plant Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Localization studies using C-terminal YFP fusion revealed chloroplast localization of TROL. In vitro chloroplast import assays confirmed its thylakoid localization and have demonstrated that TROL possesses characteristics of an integral membrane component. Furthermore, TROL is most likely exclusively located in non-apressed thylakoid regions. A strong interaction between TROL and FNR was demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation experiments and yeast two hybrid methods. The SAIL line with no production of TROL (“ knock-out” plants) and antisense line showed a significant difference in electron transport rates. TROL possesses a rhodanese-like domain linked to a module which interacts with FNR. Rhodaneses are very old group of proteins, suggested to be involved in distinct biological functions such as cyanide detoxification, formation of prosthetic groups in iron-sulfur proteins and thiamin biosynthesis. Our aim is to produce transgenic plants with modified protein TROL to explore the function of the rhodanese – like domain.

Arabidopsis; FNR; signaling pathways

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