Börner Thomas
Institute of Biology, Molecular Genetics, Humboldt University Berlin, Rhoda Erdmann Haus, Philippstr 13, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
Protoplasma. 2017 Sep;254(5):1845-1855. doi: 10.1007/s00709-017-1104-1. Epub 2017 Mar 23.
DNA and machinery for gene expression have been discovered in chloroplasts during the 1960s. It was soon evident that the chloroplast genome is relatively small, that most genes for chloroplast-localized proteins reside in the nucleus and that chloroplast membranes, ribosomes, and protein complexes are composed of proteins encoded in both the chloroplast and the nuclear genome. This situation has made the existence of mechanisms highly probable that coordinate the gene expression in plastids and nucleus. In the 1970s, the first evidence for plastid signals controlling nuclear gene expression was provided by studies on plastid ribosome deficient mutants with reduced amounts and/or activities of nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins including the small subunit of Rubisco, ferredoxin NADP+ reductase, and enzymes of the Calvin cycle. This review describes first models of plastid-to-nucleus signaling and their discovery. Today, many plastid signals are known. They do not only balance gene expression in chloroplasts and nucleus during developmental processes but are also generated in response to environmental changes sensed by the organelles.
20世纪60年代，人们在叶绿体中发现了DNA和基因表达机制。很快就清楚了，叶绿体基因组相对较小，大多数叶绿体定位蛋白的基因位于细胞核中，并且叶绿体膜、核糖体和蛋白质复合物由叶绿体和核基因组中编码的蛋白质组成。这种情况使得很有可能存在协调质体和细胞核中基因表达的机制。20世纪70年代，对质体核糖体缺陷型突变体的研究提供了质体信号控制核基因表达的首个证据，这些突变体中核编码的叶绿体蛋白（包括Rubisco小亚基、铁氧还蛋白NADP+还原酶和卡尔文循环的酶）的数量和/或活性降低。本综述描述了质体到细胞核信号传导的首个模型及其发现。如今，许多质体信号已为人所知。它们不仅在发育过程中平衡叶绿体和细胞核中的基因表达，还会因细胞器感知到的环境变化而产生。
