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Research
Keywords
- biogenesis of the thylakoid membrane
- intraorganellar protein sorting
- transport mechanisms
- components of the thylakoidal protein transport machinery
- dual targeting - Organelle specificity of nuclear encoded proteins
The general working topic of the group is the biogenesis of the thylakoid membrane, in particular the transport of proteins across this membrane. To date, four different transport pathways have been described at the thylakoid membrane which are addressed as Sec-dependent, Delta-pH/Tat-dependent, SRP-dependent und spontaneous protein transport. Each pathway operates with a distinct mechanism and is specific for a subset of thylakoid proteins.
Methodology:The characterization of the transport mechanism generally involves in vitro synthesized precursor proteins and isolated chloroplasts or thylakoid membranes. Cloning of components of the thylakoidal transport machinery as well as the isolation of mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana and Synechocystis PCC6803 which are affected in their transport machineries are additional points of emphasis.
The final goal is to understand the phylogeny of the thylakoidal transport pathways, i.e., how, why and from which origin such a variety of protein transport pathways was developed. The chloroplast representing a former prokaryote in an eukaryotic cell environment seems to provide an almost ideal system for this type of analysis.
