In the presence of the S polypeptide, maize chloroplast DNA-dependent RNA polymerase preferentially transcribes sequences within the 2200-nucleotide-pair-long maize chloroplast chromosome fragment Eco [unk] from a supercoiled chimeric plasmid cloned in Escherichia coli [Jolly, S. O. & Bogorad, L. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 822-826]. Eco [unk] contains one gene for tRNA(His) and one f...

BACKGROUND Eukaryotic cells arose through the uptake of bacterial endosymbionts and their gradual conversion into cell organelles (mitochondria and chloroplasts). In this process, a massive transfer of genes from the genome of the endosymbiont to the nuclear genome of the host cell occurred. Whereas intron-free organellar genes could conceivably enter the nucleus as DNA pieces and become functi...

The different metabolic paths followed by homologous chloroplast DNAs of maternal and paternal origins in zygotes of Chlamydomonas were examined by prelabeling parental cells, before mating them, with [3H]adenine, [3H]thymidine, and [3H]deoxycytidine. Within 6 hr after mating, maternal chloroplast DNA was extensively methylated to 5-methylcytosine and its bouyant density decreased. Paternal chl...

The PEND protein is a DNA-binding protein in the inner envelope membrane of a developing chloroplast, which may anchor chloroplast nucleoids. Here we report the DNA-binding characteristics of the N-terminal basic region plus leucine zipper (bZIP)-like domain of the PEND protein that we call cbZIP domain. The basic region of the cbZIP domain diverges significantly from the basic region of known ...

The transcriptional activity of nucleoids changes during plastid development, presumably due to the morphological and molecular differences of the nucleoids. Pea chloroplast nucleoids have an abundant 70-kDa protein identified as sulfite reductase (SiR) that can compact DNA. Using an in vitro transcription assay, we show here that heparin increased the transcriptional activity of chloroplast nu...

The role of light in nalidixic acid bleaching of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris was investigated. The kinetics of loss of the chloroplast-associated DNA and the sensitivity of chloroplast replication to ultraviolet light was followed during treatment with nalidixic acid. By using the mutant P(4)ZUL, and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-, 1-dimethylurea, it was demonstrated that the requirement for ligh...

background: gossypium thurberi is a wild diploid species that has been used to improve cultivated allotetraploid cotton. g. thurberi belongs to d genome, which is an important wild bio-source for the cotton breeding and genetic research. to a certain degree, chloroplast dna sequence information are a versatile tool for species identification and phylogenetic implications in plants. different ch...

Two mutations are described that alter the pattern of inheritance of chloroplast genes in Chlamydomonas. The mutant gene mat-1 linked to the mating type allele mt(-) greatly increases the frequency of exceptional zygotes, i.e., zygotes that transmit chloroplast genes from the mt(-) (male) parent. In some crosses, 80-90% of the zygotes are biparental, transmitting chloroplast genes from both par...

Complete Populus genome sequences are available for the nucleus (P. trichocarpa; section Tacamahaca) and for chloroplasts (seven species), but not for mitochondria. Here, we provide the complete genome sequences of the chloroplast and the mitochondrion for the clones P. tremula W52 and P. tremula x P. alba 717-1B4 (section Populus). The organization of the chloroplast genomes of both Populus cl...

Zea mays chloroplast DNA-dependent RNA polymerase in vitro preferentially transcribes maize chloroplast DNA sequences incorporated in cloned chimeric bacterial plasmids. Preferential transcription is dependent on the presence of a 27.5-kilodalton polypeptide, the S factor, which has been purified from maize chloroplasts, and also on the template's being in the supercoiled form.