The School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2022 Oct;47(10):851-864. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2022.03.010. Epub 2022 Apr 6.
Chloroplasts are the sites of photosynthesis in plants and algae and, by extension, are essential for most life on Earth. Their maintenance is costly and complex due to the inherent photo-oxidative damage incurred by photosynthetic chemistry. Chloroplast degradation and cell death are mechanisms by which plants acclimate to such stress and serve a dual purpose: protecting cells and organs by removing reactive oxygen species-producing chloroplasts and redistributing nutrients to other tissues. Here I review recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms initiating and facilitating such degradation and show these are complex processes involving multiple pathways. Due to the links to photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism, there is great potential to manipulate these pathways to increase crop yield and quality under stressful environments.
叶绿体是植物和藻类进行光合作用的场所，因此，对地球上大多数生命来说都是必不可少的。由于光合作用化学物质固有的光氧化损伤，叶绿体的维持既昂贵又复杂。通过叶绿体降解和细胞死亡，植物可以适应这种压力，并具有双重目的：通过去除产生活性氧的叶绿体来保护细胞和器官，并将营养物质重新分配到其他组织中。在这里，我回顾了最近在理解启动和促进这种降解的分子机制方面的进展，并表明这些都是涉及多个途径的复杂过程。由于与光合作用和氮代谢有关，因此有很大的潜力可以操纵这些途径，以在胁迫环境下提高作物的产量和质量。
