Open AccessManipulation of Gene Expression in the Chloroplast
Author(s) -
David B. Stern,
Gadi Schuster
Publication year - 2000
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.32747/2000.7575289.bard
Subject(s) - chlamydomonas reinhardtii , polyadenylation , biology , chloroplast , translational efficiency , untranslated region , chlamydomonas , gene expression , gene , genetics , three prime untranslated region , rna , translation (biology) , chloroplast dna , exoribonuclease , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , mutant , rnase p
The steady-state level of a given mRNA is determined by its rates of transcription and degradation. The stabilities of chloroplast mRNAs vary during plant development, in part regulating gene expression. Furthermore, the fitness of the organelle depends on its ability to destroy non-functional transcripts. In addition, there is a resurgent interest by the biotechnology community in chloroplast transformation due to the public concerns over pollen transmission of introduced traits or foreign proteins. Therefore, studies into basic gene expression mechanisms in the chloroplast will open the door to take advantage of these opportunities. This project was aimed at gaining mechanistic insights into mRNA processing and degradation in the chloroplast and to engineer transcripts of varying stability in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells. This research uncovered new and important information on chloroplast mRNA stability, processing, degradation and translation. In particular, the processing of the 3' untranslated regions of chloroplast mRNAs was shown to be important determinants in translation. The endonucleolytic site in the 3' untranslated region was characterized by site directed mutagensis. RNA polyadenylation has been characterized in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and chloroplast transformants carrying polyadenylated sequences were constructed and analyzed. Data obtained to date suggest that chloroplasts have gene regulatory mechanisms which are uniquely adapted to their post-endosymbiotic environment, including those that regulate RNA stability. An exciting point has been reached, because molecular genetic studies have defined critical RNA-protein interactions that participate in these processes. However, much remains to be learned about these multiple pathways, how they interact with each other, and how many nuclear genes are consecrated to overseeing them. Chlamydomonas is an ideal model system to extend our understanding of these areas, given its ease of manipulation and the existing knowledge base, some of which we have generated.