Cell Organelles

472 Pages·1992·13.369 MB·English

by  John E. Boynton, Nicholas W. Gillham, Scott M. Newman, Elizabeth H. Harris (auth.), Dr. Reinhold G. Herrmann (eds.)

Plant Gene Research
Basic Knowledge and Application
Edited by
E.S. Dennis, Canberra
B. Hahn, Basel
Th. Hahn, Basel (Managing Editor)
P.J. King, Basel
J. Schell, Koln
D.P.S. Verma, Columbus
Springer-Verlag Wien New York
Cell Organelles
Edited by
R.G. Herrmann
Springer-Verlag Wien New York
Dr. Reinhold G. Herrmann
Botanisches Institut der Ludwig-Maximihans-Universltat
MUnIch
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the
materIal is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprmting, re-use of Illustrations,
broadcastmg, reproduction by photocopying machine or sImilar means, and storage in data
banks.
© 1992 by Springer-VerlagjWien
Softcover reprint of the hardcover lst edition 1992
Typeset by Macmillan India Ltd., Bangalore 25
With 55 FIgures
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cell organelles j edited by R.G. Herrmann.
p. cm.-{Plant gene research)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Plant organelles. 2. Cell organelles-Formation. 3. Plant genetics.
I. Herrmann, R.G. (Reinhold G.) II. Series.
QK725.C386 1992 92-20165
581.8T34-dc20 CIP
ISSN 0175-2073
ISBN-13:978-3-7091-9140-8 e-ISBN-13 :978-3-7091-9138-5
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-7091-9138-5
Preface
The compartmentation of genetic information is a fundamental feature of
the eukaryotic cell. The metabolic capacity of a eukaryotic (plant) cell and
the steps leading to it are overwhelmingly an endeavour of a joint genetic
cooperation between nucleus/cytosol, plastids, and mitochondria. Alter
ation of the genetic material in anyone of these compartments or exchange
of organelles between species can seriously affect harmoniously balanced
growth of an organism. Although the biological significance of this genetic
design has been vividly evident since the discovery of non-Mendelian
inheritance by Baur and Correns at the beginning of this century, and
became indisputable in principle after Renner's work on interspecific
nuclear/plastid hybrids (summarized in his classical article in 1934), studies
on the genetics of organelles have long suffered from the lack of respectabil
ity. Non-Mendelian inheritance was considered a research sideline~ifnot a
freak~by most geneticists, which becomes evident when one consults
common textbooks. For instance, these have usually impeccable accounts of
photosynthetic and respiratory energy conversion in chloroplasts and
mitochondria, of metabolism and global circulation of the biological key
elements C, N, and S, as well as of the organization, maintenance, and
function of nuclear genetic information. In contrast, the heredity and
molecular biology of organelles are generally treated as an adjunct, and
neither goes as far as to describe the impact of the integrated genetic system.
The consequence of this neglect may well be that problems inherently of
great importance to understanding of living systems, such as the search for
the origins of the eukaryotic world or the functional and phylogenetic
efficacy of this design which may have been the basis for the development of
the complex societies of multicellular organisms, are overlooked. If some
intermediate goal in biology is an understanding of an entire organism,
information on individual compartments alone will not suffice.
During the past two decades this sceptical attitude has gradually
changed. The principal reason for this is that the application of techniques
of molecular biology which contributed substantially to the understanding
of biology in general, turned organelle research into a very appealing subject
for molecular and cell biologists. When recombinant DNA technology
combined with complementing developments in cell biology, biochemistry
and ultrastructural research began to be applied to problems of organelle
biology, it became apparent that previously unapproachable questions
could be addressed. The answers were indeed exciting, interpretable, and
suggestive of a multitude of new experiments. For example, it has been
firmly established that the genetic material of organelles is unique, on
togenetically stable and a discrete element of the genetic constitution of the
VI Preface
plant that is inherited independently from the nucleus. Moreover, the design
of plastomes and chondriomes which differs fundamentally from that of
genomes is commensurate with the rules offormal genetics; most character
istics of non-Mendelian inheritance can be explained on the basis of their
organisation implying that the chromosome theory of inheritance can be
extended to the organelle subgenomes. To describe the genetic make-up of
the eukaryotic cell in a scientifically unequivocal way the use of the
historical, positive nomenclature, "genome", "pi as tome", and "chon
driome", to characterize the respective genetic materials in nuclei, plastid,
and mitochondria, appears to be most appropriate since these terms
underline the interdependence of compartments. We have also learnt that
organelle chromosomes possess a substantial, not yet completely unraveled
coding potential. However, our knowledge of the structure and function of
these genes and of their respective nuclear counterparts, or of the mech
anisms of their (co)regulation is still limited. Basic research in this area is
very essential. Given the pivotal role of plastids and mitochondria in the
energy economy of cell and plant, understanding the molecular basis and
phenotypic expression of "intergenomic integration" is a fundamental
problem in biology per se and only after the elucidation of these questions
can we start to investigate how genetic, environmental and physiological
factors regulate the biogenesis and function of organelles during the
changing energy requirements of the growing plant. The enormous com
plexity of the plant genome, including the intricacies of genetic com
partmentation, and the division of labour in a multicellular organism
present a fascinating intellectual challenge in contemporary biology both
from the basic and applied point of view, specifically since modern breeding
concepts tend to integrate more and more heterologous gene sources.
The need for an up-to-data account of the state of knowledge in the outlined
subject is pressing since there has been no recent treatment of the entire field
indicative of its growth, vitality, and momentum. The volume is designed to
fill this gap and to convey substantial information on all major areas of
organelle molecular biology to those just entering the field and also to the
experienced researcher. Written by distinguished scientists who play a
leading role in the development of this important area of plant research, the
topics examined are divided into 6 sections, formal and molecular organelle
genetics of both lower and higher plants, phylogenetic aspects with focus on
the comparison between plastid and mitochondrial chromosomes, the gene
maps of organelle chromosomes, and various aspects of organelle biogenesis
including the expression of organelle genes, their cooperation with those of
the nucleus, as well as the import and routing of polypetides into the within
organelles. A final section summarizes our present knowledge on peroxis
omes and glyoxisomes, since their biogenesis shares features with that of
plastids and mitochondria and no recent comprehensive treatise is available
on this subject. A few interesting and important aspects of organelle biology
have been deliberately omitted. Most conspicuously absent is a detailed
Preface vii
discussion of the architecture and function of promo tors of nuclear genes
encoding chloroplast proteins since these have been the subject of several
recent reviews.
As the editor of this volume, I am indebted to the authors who have
summarized their research knowledge in areas that are still emerging and
which are in part poorly understood. I would also like to thank them
cordially for the prompt submission of their articles and constructive
cooperation. Finally, I am grateful to the staff of Springer-Verlag Wien,
particularly to Ms. Silyia Schilgerius and Mr. Thomas Redl for their
patience with the assembly of this volume.
Miinchen, January 1992 Reinhold G. Herrmann
Contents
Section I Organelle Genetics in Lower and Higher Plants
Chapter 1 Organelle Genetics and Transformation of Chlamydomonas
J.E. Boynton, ~.W. Gillham, S.M. Newman,
and E.H. Harris, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.
I. Introduction 4
II. Inheritance of Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Genomes 6
III. Isolation of Organelle Mutations 10
IV. Chloroplast Genes and Mutations Identified in Chlamydomonas 11
V. Physical Structure of Organelle Genomes 20
VI. Segregation and Recombination of Chloroplast Genes 28
VII. Transformation of Chlamydomonas 37
VIII. References 48
Chapter 2 Plastid Genetics in Higher Plants
R. Hagemann, Halle, Federal Republic of Germany
I. Three Modes of Plastid Inheritance 66
II. Cytological Mechanisms Underlying the Plastid Transmission from the
Male Parent 70
III. Cytological Mechanisms Influencing the Plastid Transmission from the
Female Parent 76
IV. Recombination of Plastid Genes in Higher Plants 78
V. Plastome Mutations .and Their Molecular Basis 79
VI. Complex Plastid Characters, Determined by an Interaction of Plastids and
Nucleus 82
VII. References 91
Section II Evolution of Organelle Genomes
Chapter 3 Comparison of Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Genome
Evolution in Plants
J.D. Palmer, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.
I. Introduction 99
II. Endosymbiotic Origins of Organelle Genomes 100
III. Evolution of Genome Size 102
IV. Evolutionary Change in Genome Organization 108
V. Sequence Evolution 117
VI. Evolution of Organelle Genomes in Algae 119
VII. Concluding Remarks 123
VIII. References 124
x Contents
Section III Organelle Chromosomes, Genes, and Gene Expression
Chapter 4 Organization and Expression of Genes of
Plastid Chromosomes from Non-Angiospermous
Land Plants and Green Algae
K. Ohyama, Kyoto, Japan
I. IntroductIOn 137
II. Genome Sizes and PhysIcal Maps 139
III. Repeated Sequences and InversIOn 139
IV. Gene Clusters and Scattered Genes 142
V. PlastId DNA ReplicatIOn 151
VI. PlastId Introns and Splicing 153
VII References 155
Chapter 5 Plastid Chromosomes from Vascular Plants-Genes
R.F. Whittier and M. Sugiura, Ibaraki and Nagoya, Japan
I. Introduction 164
II. Chromosome Structure 165
III. Genes 166
IV. Summary 174
V. References 175
Chapter 6 The Mitochondrial Genome of Plants
D.M. Lonsdale and J.M. Grienenberger, Norwich, England
and Strasbourg, France
I The MitochondrIal Genome 183
II Genes 195
III. Transcription 201
IV. Translation 205
V. Conclusion 206
VI. References 206
Chapter 7 Cytoplasmic Male Sterility
c.J. Braun, G.G. Brown, and C.S. Levings III, Raleigh,
North Carolina, U.S.A. and Montreal, Quebec, Canada
I. Introduction 219
II. Maize 223
III. Brass/ca 231
IV. Petunia 236
V. Vicia faba 237
VI. Concluding Remarks 238
VII. References 239
Section IV Organelle Biogenesis
Chapter 8 Control of Plastid Gene Expression
in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
J.-D. Rochaix, Geneva, Switzerland
I. Introduction 249
II. Chloroplast Transformation 251
Contents Xl
III. Molecular Genetics of Photosystem I (PS 1) and Photo system II (PS II)
Assembly 252
IV. Suppression of Chloroplast Mutations in the Gene of the Large Subunit of
Ribulose 1,5 Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase (RuBisCo) 259
V. Chloroplast RNA Accumulation 259
VI. Chloroplast RNA Maturation and Splicing 260
VII. Chloroplast Translational and Post-translational Events 262
VIII. Conclusions 266
IX. References 268
Chapter 9 Biogenesis of Plastids in Higher Plants
R.G. Herrmann, P. Westhoff, and G. Link, Miinchen,
Diisseldorf, and Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany
I. Introduction 276
II. General Aspects of Chloroplast Biogenesis 277
III. Gene Expression 306
IV. Compartmental Interaction 327
V. Plastid Modifications 329
VI. Conclusions 331
VII. References 332
Section V Protein Import
Chapter 10 Transport of Proteins into Chloroplasts
K. Keegstra and G. von Heijne, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
and Huddinge, Sweden
I. Introduction 353
II. Transit Peptide Structure 355
III. Transport Across the Envelope Membranes 357
IV. Proteolytic Processing 363
V. Intraorganelle Transport and Assembly 364
VI. Future Prospects 366
VII. References 367
Chapter 11 Components and Mechanisms in
Mitochondrial Protein Import
N. Pfanner, Miinchen, Federal Republic of Germany
I. Introduction 371
II. Precursor Proteins and Cytosolic Cofactors 374
III. Import Receptors 380
IV. Contact Sites 385
V. Processing Enzymes 388
VI. The Mitochondrial Heat Shock Proteins hsp60 and hsp 70 389
VII. Sorting Pathways 390
VIII. Conclusions and Perspectives 392
IX. References 393