A fragment of the Helicosporidium sp. (Chlorophyta: Trebouxiophyceae) plastid genome has been sequenced. The genome architecture was compared to that of both a non-photosynthetic relative (Prototheca wickerhamii) and a photosynthetic relative (Chlorella vulgaris). Comparative genomic analysis indicated that Helicosporidium and Prototheca are closely related genera. The analyses also revealed th...

A gene fusion encoding a plastid-targeted bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase (T7RNAP) under the transcriptional control of the light-regulated promoter and the plastid-targeting signals of a ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) small-subunit (SSU) gene was introduced into the nuclear genome of Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco). Immunoblot analysis, in vitro transcription assays and prot...

Studies of photosynthetic eukaryotes have revealed that the evolution of plastids from cyanobacteria involved the recruitment of non-cyanobacterial proteins. Our phylogenetic survey of >100 Arabidopsis nuclear-encoded plastid enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis identified only 21 unambiguous cyanobacterial-derived proteins. Some of the several non-cyanobacterial plastid enzymes have a s...

Plastid genomes contain a conserved set of genes encoding components of the translational apparatus. While knockout of plastid translation is lethal in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), it is not known whether each individual component of the plastid ribosome is essential. Here, we used reverse genetics to test whether several plastid genome–encoded ribosomal proteins are essential. We found that, w...

BACKGROUND In one small group of dinoflagellates, photosynthesis is carried out by a tertiary endosymbiont derived from a diatom, giving rise to a complex cell that we collectively refer to as a 'dinotom'. The endosymbiont is separated from its host by a single membrane and retains plastids, mitochondria, a large nucleus, and many other eukaryotic organelles and structures, a level of complexit...

Chloroplast RNA metabolism is integrated into wider gene regulatory networks. To explore how, we performed a chloroplast genome-wide expression analysis on numerous nuclear Arabidopsis mutants affected in diverse chloroplast functions and wild-type plants subjected to various stresses and conditions. On the basis of clustering analysis, plastid genes could be divided into two oppositely regulat...

Transfer of DNA between different compartments of the plant cell, i.e., plastid, mitochondrion and nucleus, is a well-known phenomenon in plant evolution. Six directions of inter-compartmental DNA migration are possible in theory, however only four of them have been previously reported. These include frequent cases of mitochondrion and plastid to nucleus transfer, plastid to mitochondrion trans...

Plastids of Oenothera, the evening primrose, can be transmitted to the progeny from both parents. In a constant nuclear background, the frequency of biparental plastid transmission is determined by the types of plastid genomes (plastomes) involved in the crosses. In this study, the impact of nuclear genomes on plastid inheritance was analyzed. In general, the transmission efficiency of each pla...

Tilia is an ecologically and economically important genus in the family Malvaceae. However, there is no complete plastid genome of Tilia sequenced to date, and the taxonomy of Tilia is difficult owing to frequent hybridization and polyploidization. A well-supported interspecific relationships of this genus is not available due to limited informative sites from the commonly used molecular marker...

Plastid genomes contain a conserved set of genes most of which are involved in either photosynthesis or gene expression. Among the ribosomal protein genes present in higher plant plastid genomes, rps18 is special in that it is absent from the plastid genomes of several non-green unicellular organisms, including Euglena longa and Toxoplasma gondii. Here we have tested whether the ribosomal prote...