Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Trends in plant science |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 25 Feb 2025 |
Abstract
Plant chloroplasts possess a dedicated genome (plastome) and a prokaryotic-type plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) that mediates its expression. PEP is composed of five bacteria-like core proteins and 16 nucleus-encoded PEP-associated proteins (PAPs). These are essential for PEP-driven transcription and chloroplast biogenesis, but their functions and structural arrangement in the PEP complex remained largely enigmatic. Recently, four independently determined cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of purified plant PEP complexes reported features of the prokaryotic core and the arrangement of PAPs around it, identified potential functional domains and cofactors, and described the interactions of PEP with DNA. We explore these data and critically discuss the proposed regulatory impact of PAPs on the transcription process. We further address the evolutionary implications and describe fields for future investigation.
Keywords
- chloroplast, cryo-EM structures, functional predictions, PEP-associated proteins, RNA polymerase, transcription
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Plant Science
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In: Trends in plant science, 25.02.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The plastid-encoded RNA polymerase of plant chloroplasts
AU - Ahrens, Frederik M.
AU - do Prado, Paula F.V.
AU - Hillen, Hauke S.
AU - Pfannschmidt, Thomas
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/2/25
Y1 - 2025/2/25
N2 - Plant chloroplasts possess a dedicated genome (plastome) and a prokaryotic-type plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) that mediates its expression. PEP is composed of five bacteria-like core proteins and 16 nucleus-encoded PEP-associated proteins (PAPs). These are essential for PEP-driven transcription and chloroplast biogenesis, but their functions and structural arrangement in the PEP complex remained largely enigmatic. Recently, four independently determined cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of purified plant PEP complexes reported features of the prokaryotic core and the arrangement of PAPs around it, identified potential functional domains and cofactors, and described the interactions of PEP with DNA. We explore these data and critically discuss the proposed regulatory impact of PAPs on the transcription process. We further address the evolutionary implications and describe fields for future investigation.
AB - Plant chloroplasts possess a dedicated genome (plastome) and a prokaryotic-type plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) that mediates its expression. PEP is composed of five bacteria-like core proteins and 16 nucleus-encoded PEP-associated proteins (PAPs). These are essential for PEP-driven transcription and chloroplast biogenesis, but their functions and structural arrangement in the PEP complex remained largely enigmatic. Recently, four independently determined cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of purified plant PEP complexes reported features of the prokaryotic core and the arrangement of PAPs around it, identified potential functional domains and cofactors, and described the interactions of PEP with DNA. We explore these data and critically discuss the proposed regulatory impact of PAPs on the transcription process. We further address the evolutionary implications and describe fields for future investigation.
KW - chloroplast
KW - cryo-EM structures
KW - functional predictions
KW - PEP-associated proteins
KW - RNA polymerase
KW - transcription
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85218864581&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tplants.2025.01.010
DO - 10.1016/j.tplants.2025.01.010
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85218864581
JO - Trends in plant science
JF - Trends in plant science
SN - 1360-1385
ER -