We investigated the size of flanking DNA incorporated into the tobacco plastid genome alongside a selectable antibiotic resistance mutation. The results showed that integration of a long uninterrupted region of homologous DNA, rather than of small fragments as previously thought, is the more likely event in plastid transformation of land plants. Transforming plasmid pJS75 contains a 6.2-kb DNA ...

BACKGROUND The endosymbiotic birth of organelles is accompanied by massive transfer of endosymbiont genes to the eukaryotic host nucleus. In the centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana the Psb28 protein is encoded in the plastid genome while a second version is nuclear-encoded and possesses a bipartite N-terminal presequence necessary to target the protein into the diatom complex plastid. Thus ...

The immutans (im) variegation mutation of Arabidopsis has green- and white- sectored leaves due to action of a nuclear recessive gene. IM codes for PTOX, a plastoquinol oxidase in plastid membranes. Previous studies have revealed that the green and white sectors develop into sources (green tissues) and sinks (white tissues) early in leaf development. In this report we focus on white sectors, an...

Plants are a promising expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. However, low protein productivity remains a major obstacle that limits extensive commercialization of whole plant and plant cell bioproduction platform. Plastid genetic engineering offers several advantages, including high levels of transgenic expression, transgenic containment via maternal inheritance, and mul...

We investigated the size of flanking DNA incorporated into the tobacco plastid genome alongside a selectable antibiotic resistance mutation. The results showed that integration of a long uninterrupted region of homologous DNA, rather than of small fragments as previously thought, is the more likely event in plastid transformation of land plants. Transforming plasmid pJS75 contains a 6.2-kb DNA ...

Plastid transformation has become an attractive tool in biotechnology. Because of the prokaryotic nature of the plastid's gene expression machinery, expression elements (promoters and untranslated regions) that trigger high-level foreign protein accumulation in plastids usually also confer high expression in bacterial cloning hosts. This can cause problems, for example, when production of antim...

Recently, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha has received increasing attention as a basal plant model for multicellular studies. Its ease of handling, well-characterized plastome and proven protocols for biolistic plastid transformation qualify M. polymorpha as an attractive platform to study the evolution of chloroplasts during the transition from water to land. In addition, chloroplasts of M...

Plastid transformation is widely used in basic research and for biotechnological applications. Initially developed in Chlamydomonas and tobacco, it is now feasible in a broad range of species. Selection of transgenic lines where all copies of the polyploid plastid genome are transformed requires efficient markers. A number of traits have been used for selection such as photoautotrophy, resistan...

continuous labelling of callus with h-thymidine results in intermittent peaks of h-dna per chloroplast, showing synchrony of division. the increase in h-dna could be due to several replication rounds, and the drop to successive plastid divisions without intervening dna synthesis. the level of dna-binding proteins in the chloroplast parallels the peaks of plastidal dna synthesis; such proteins c...

The insertion of transgenes into the plastid genome (plastome) has proved to be an effective alternative to nuclear transformation for producing stable transformants expressing heterologous proteins. Recently, methodology, characteristics, and possible fields of application of plastome transformation have been extensively reviewed (Lössl and Waheed, 2011; Scotti et al., 2012). From these report...