Chloroplast genomes of plants are highly conserved in both gene order and gene content. Analysis of the whole chloroplast genome is known to provide much more informative DNA sites and thus generates high resolution for plant phylogenies. Here, we report the complete chloroplast genomes of three Salix species in family Salicaceae. Phylogeny of Salicaceae inferred from complete chloroplast genom...

The effect of rifampin, an inhibitor of bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, was studied in Chlamydomonas reinhardi. It was shown, in vivo and in vitro, that chloroplast-located, but not nuclear, DNA-dependent RNA polymerase is inhibited by this drug. The inhibition of chloroplast RNA polymerase results in the inhibition of chloroplast rRNA synthesis, and thus in the loss of chloroplast ribo...

Previous studies have indicated that in all land plants examined to date, the chloroplast gene trnLUAA isinterrupted by a single group I intron ranging from 250 to over 1400 bp. The parasitic Epifagus virginiana haslost, however, the entire gene. We report that the intron is missing from the chloroplast genome of twoarctic species of the legume genus Hedysarum (H. alpinum, H. ...

Light-induced chloroplast movement and attachment to the plasma membrane are dependent on actin filaments. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the short actin filaments on the chloroplast envelope, cp-actin filaments, are essential for chloroplast movement and positioning. Furthermore, cp-actin-filament-mediated chloroplast movement is necessary for the strong-light-induced nuclear avoidance response. The...

Since the availability of first complete DNA sequence of chloroplast genome of Marchantia polymorpha several studies to determine the structure and organization of chloroplast genomes of various plant groups have been made. However the lineage sampling of bryophytes are poorly represented in complete chloroplast genome sequences (only three liverworts, two mosses and one hornwort). This review ...

The Arabidopsis thaliana yellow variegated2 (var2) mutant is variegated due to lack of a chloroplast FtsH-like metalloprotease (FtsH2/VAR2). We have generated suppressors of var2 variegation to gain insight into factors and pathways that interact with VAR2 during chloroplast biogenesis. Here, we describe two such suppressors. Suppression of variegation in the first line, TAG-FN, was caused by d...

Background Phylogenetic relationship within different genera of Lemnoideae, a kind of small aquatic monocotyledonous plants, was not well resolved, using either morphological characters or traditional markers. Given that rich genetic information in chloroplast genome makes them particularly useful for phylogenetic studies, we used chloroplast genomes to clarify the phylogeny within Lemnoideae. ...

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) yellow variegated2 (var2) mutant has green- and white-sectored leaves due to loss of VAR2, a subunit of the chloroplast FtsH protease/chaperone complex. Suppressor screens are a valuable tool to gain insight into VAR2 function and the mechanism of var2 variegation. Here, we report the molecular characterization of 004-003, a line in which var2 variegation ...

Chloroplast ribonucleoproteins (cpRNPs) are nuclear-encoded, highly abundant, and light-regulated RNA binding proteins. They have been shown to be involved in chloroplast RNA processing and stabilization in vitro and are phylogenetically related to the well-described heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs). cpRNPs have been found associated with mRNAs present in chloroplasts and have ...

BACKGROUND The presence of chloroplast-related DNA sequences in the nuclear genome is generally regarded as a relic of the process by which genes have been transferred from the chloroplast to the nucleus. The remaining chloroplast encoded genes are not identical across the plant kingdom indicating an ongoing transfer of genes from the organelle to the nucleus. SCOPE This review focuses on the...