Open AccessVIPP1 , a nuclear gene of Arabidopsis thaliana essential for thylakoid membrane formation
Author(s) -
Daniela Kroll,
Karin Meierhoff,
Nicole Bechtold,
Mikio Kinoshita,
Sabine Westphal,
Ute C. Vothknecht,
Jürgen Soll,
Peter Westhoff
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.061500998
Subject(s) - thylakoid , chloroplast , twin arginine translocation pathway , biogenesis , biology , plastid , vesicle , mutant , microbiology and biotechnology , arabidopsis , arabidopsis thaliana , transport protein , membrane protein , biophysics , membrane , biochemistry , gene
The conversion of light to chemical energy by the process of photosynthesis is localized to the thylakoid membrane network in plant chloroplasts. Although several pathways have been described that target proteins into and across the thylakoids, little is known about the origin of this membrane system or how the lipid backbone of the thylakoids is transported and fused with the target membrane. Thylakoid biogenesis and maintenance seem to involve the flow of membrane elements via vesicular transport. Here we show by mutational analysis that deletion of a single gene calledVIPP1 (vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1) is deleterious to thylakoid membrane formation. Although VIPP1 is a hydrophilic protein it is found in both the inner envelope and the thylakoid membranes. InVIPP1 deletion mutants vesicle formation is abolished. We propose thatVIPP1 is essential for the maintenance of thylakoids by a transport pathway not previously recognized.