Grossman Arthur R, Lohr Martin, Im Chung Soon
The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Plant Biology, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Annu Rev Genet. 2004;38:119-73. doi: 10.1146/annurev.genet.38.072902.092328.
This review focuses on the biosynthesis of pigments in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and their physiological and regulatory functions in the context of information gathered from studies of other photosynthetic organisms. C. reinhardtii is serving as an important model organism for studies of photosynthesis and the pigments associated with the photosynthetic apparatus. Despite extensive information pertaining to the biosynthetic pathways critical for making chlorophylls and carotenoids, we are just beginning to understand the control of these pathways, the coordination between pigment and apoprotein synthesis, and the interactions between the activities of these pathways and those for other important cellular metabolites branching from these pathways. Other exciting areas relating to pigment function are also emerging: the role of intermediates of pigment biosynthesis as messengers that coordinate metabolism in the chloroplast with nuclear gene activity, and the identification of photoreceptors and their participation in critical cellular processes including phototaxis, gametogenesis, and the biogenesis of the photosynthetic machinery. These areas of research have become especially attractive for intensive development with the application of potent molecular and genomic tools currently being applied to studies of C. reinhardtii.
本综述聚焦于单细胞绿藻莱茵衣藻中色素的生物合成，以及在从其他光合生物研究中收集到的信息背景下，这些色素的生理和调节功能。莱茵衣藻正作为光合作用及与光合装置相关色素研究的重要模式生物。尽管已有大量关于叶绿素和类胡萝卜素生物合成关键途径的信息，但我们才刚刚开始理解这些途径的调控、色素与脱辅基蛋白合成之间的协调，以及这些途径与从这些途径分支出来的其他重要细胞代谢物途径之间的相互作用。与色素功能相关的其他令人兴奋的领域也正在出现：色素生物合成中间体作为协调叶绿体代谢与核基因活性的信使的作用，以及光感受器的鉴定及其参与包括趋光性、配子发生和光合机器生物发生在内的关键细胞过程。随着目前应用于莱茵衣藻研究的强大分子和基因组工具的应用，这些研究领域已变得特别吸引深入开发。
