Thylakoid membrane biogenesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Final Report Abstract
The data I gathered during my 2-year PostDoc stay in the group of William Zerges together with previous work in this laboratory, helped to understand that in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii a complex spatio-temporal network exists that regulates and locates PSII biogenesis and complex assembly to a specific compartment in this organism. Two different compartments, that are the T-Zones with the translation membranes and the lobe junctions with the import complex in the envelope membrane, form this network and act together to achieve proper PSII complex assembly and membrane-insertion. This organization resembles a bit processes that are described in mitochondria, where also 2 different compartments in the inner membrane are functionally connected by protein complexes consisting of subunits of the import machinery. Additionally, the data gathered in cyanobacteria shows that specialized compartments exist in Synechocystis, where early steps of thylakoid membrane biogenesis take place. Taken all this hints and evidence together, one could say that the model we draw with the help of my results in Chlamydomonas maybe represents a more general system for membrane biogenesis and protein complexes in different organisms as well as different organelles. It really would make sense that all cellular processes have the need for a well-regulated and organized network including specialized compartments, specialized protein- and enzyme-complexes as well as specialized temporal pathways. We gathered first evidence for those processes, but actually just start to understand their complexity. So my data and my research just opens a door to new ideas and new approaches to elucidate spatio-temporal pathways in green algae and also other photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic model organisms and/or organelles.
Publications
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(2012) Biogenic membranes of the chloroplast in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 20;109(47)
Schottkowski M., Peters M., Zhan Yu., Rifai O., Zerges W.
