Kroll D, Meierhoff K, Bechtold N, Kinoshita M, Westphal S, Vothknecht U C, Soll J, Westhoff P
Institut für Entwicklungs- und Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Mar 27;98(7):4238-42. doi: 10.1073/pnas.061500998.
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 called VIPP1 (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. In VIPP1 deletion mutants vesicle formation is abolished. We propose that VIPP1 is essential for the maintenance of thylakoids by a transport pathway not previously recognized.
通过光合作用将光能转化为化学能的过程定位于植物叶绿体中的类囊体膜网络。尽管已经描述了几种将蛋白质靶向导入类囊体并穿过类囊体的途径，但对于该膜系统的起源以及类囊体的脂质骨架如何运输并与靶膜融合却知之甚少。类囊体的生物发生和维持似乎涉及通过囊泡运输的膜成分流动。在此，我们通过突变分析表明，删除一个名为VIPP1（质体中的囊泡诱导蛋白1）的单一基因对类囊体膜的形成有害。尽管VIPP1是一种亲水蛋白，但它存在于内膜和类囊体膜中。在VIPP1缺失突变体中，囊泡形成被消除。我们提出，VIPP1对于通过一种先前未被认识的运输途径维持类囊体至关重要。
