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Protein import into chloroplasts
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"198 | MARCH 2004 | VOLUME 5 www.nature.com/reviews/molcellbio REVIEWS PLASTIDS ? such as chloroplasts, which carry out pho- tosynthesis in the green parts of plants ? are present in every plant cell. Chloroplasts originated from an endosymbiotic event, in which an ancestral photosyn- thetic cyanobacterium was taken up by a heterotrophic host cell that already contained mitochondria 1,2 .This endosymbiotic process led to a massive transfer of genetic information from the endosymbiont to the emerging host nucleus. A prerequisite for the success- ful completion of this process was the development and establishment of protein-import machinery for the import of chloroplast-localized, but now cytosoli- cally synthesized, polypeptides. As chloroplasts are the most recent organelle to be added to the eukaryotic cell, several post-translational protein-targeting sys- tems probably already existed in the host cell, for example, those belonging to mitochondria 3 ,peroxi- somes 4 and the plasma membrane 5 .Therefore, the arising chloroplast protein-import system had to develop unique features to ensure organelle speci- ficity, as the correct sorting of proteins in a eukaryotic cell is essential for its functionality. The chloroplast proteome is estimated to consist of 3,500?4,000 polypeptides, whereas the coding capacity of the chloroplast genome rarely exceeds 200 genes 6,7 . Newly imported polypeptides are frequently integrated into protein complexes that also contain proteins that are synthesized inside the organelle. The most prominent examples are the two photosystems, the ATP synthase and the CO 2 -fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco). Because of this dual genetic origin, there must be a tight coordination of transcription, translation and protein import between the parent cell and the organelle. Only the tight coordi- nation of these processes in time, space and quantity ensures the successful biogenesis of the organelle. Chloroplasts are highly structured and contain three distinct membrane systems ? the outer- and inner- envelope membranes, which surround the organelle, and the thylakoid membrane network, which contains the photosynthetically active protein complexes (BOX 1). In addition, three soluble subcompartments ? the space between the envelope membranes, the stroma and the thylakoid lumen ? can be clearly distinguished. So, in addition to the targeting and import systems that are the main focus of this article, several intra-organelle sorting and transport systems must also be present in chloroplasts 8?10. Although chloroplasts are thought to originate from a unique primary endosymbiotic event, many algae contain photosynthetically active chloroplasts that are surrounded by three or four membranes. These chloroplasts are called complex plastids and they originated from a secondary endosymbiotic event in which a photosynthetic eukaryotic cell was taken up by a non-photosynthetic eukaryotic host PROTEIN IMPORT INTO CHLOROPLASTS J�rgen Soll and Enrico Schleiff Chloroplasts are organelles of endosymbiotic origin, and they transferred most of their genetic information to the host nucleus during this process. They therefore have to import more than 95% of their protein complement post-translationally from the cytosol. In vivo results from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana ? together with biochemical, biophysical and structural data from other plants ? now allow us to outline the mechanistic details of the molecular machines that facilitate this translocation. It has become clear that chloroplasts evolved a unique translocation system, which is inherited, in part, from their bacterial ancestors. Department f�r Biologie I, Botanik, Ludwig- Maximilians-Universit�t M�nchen, Menzingerstra�e 67, D-80638 M�nchen, Germany. Correspondence to J.S. e-mail: soll@uni-muenchen.de doi:10.1038/nrm1333 PLASTID A plant-specific family of organelles, the differentiation of which is dependent on the plant organ and on plant development. PLANT CELL BIOLOGY � 2004 Nature Publishing Group NATURE REVIEWS | MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY VOLUME 5 | MARCH 2004 | 199 REVIEWS APICOPLAST A non-photosynthetic plastid that is surrounded by four membranes and that still synthesizes essential metabolites for the host. HSP70 FAMILY Heat shock proteins that have a molecular weight of 70 kDa and that function as molecular chaperones. TOC complex 13 .The preproteins cross the outer enve- lope through an aqueous pore and are then transferred to the translocon in the inner envelope, which is called the TIC complex. The TOC and TIC translocons func- tion together during the translocation process (FIG. 2). Completion of import requires energy, which probably comes from the ATP-dependent functioning of molec- ular chaperones in the stroma 14 .The stromal process- ing peptidase then cleaves the transit sequence to pro- duce the mature form of the protein, which can fold into its native form. From translation to the organelle surface When the nascent polypeptide chain emerges from the ribosome it encounters a highly concentrated proteina- ceous environment. Non-productive interactions or the exposure of hydrophobic amino-acid stretches result in aggregation and the loss of newly synthesized proteins. Molecular chaperones of the heat shock pro- tein (HSP)70 FAMILY interact with non-native preproteins and keep them in a soluble, conformation that is not cell. Relic non-photosynthetic complex plastids called APICOPLASTS are also present in several intracellular para- sites such as Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii,which are the causative agents of malaria and tox- oplasmosis, respectively. Protein targeting and transloca- tion into plastids is therefore of broad interest 11 . A general outline of chloroplast protein import The vast majority of chloroplast proteins are synthe- sized as precursor proteins (preproteins) in the cytosol and are imported post-translationally into the organelle. Most proteins that are destined for the thy- lakoid membrane, the stroma and the inner envelope are synthesized with an amino-terminal extension called a presequence, or transit sequence, which is proteolytically removed after import (FIG. 1).The tran- sit sequence is both necessary and sufficient for organelle recognition and translocation initiation. Preproteins that contain a cleavable transit peptide are recognized in a GTP-regulated manner 12 by receptors of the outer-envelope translocon, which is called the Box 1 | General outline of protein import and chloroplast ultrastructure Polypeptides that are encoded in the nucleus (N) are translated in the cytosol and are post-translationally targeted by various targeting signals (depicted here in yellow) to several cellular compartments ? for example, mitochondria (M), peroxisomes (P), plasma membrane (PM) and chloroplasts (see figure). Protein import into chloroplasts is achieved by two translocons called TOC and TIC that reside in the outer and inner envelope (OE and IE), respectively. The chloroplast is highly structured. It is composed of three membrane systems ? that is, the OE and IE, and the thylakoid membrane network that contains the protein complexes that are involved in photosynthesis. In addition, three soluble spaces can be distinguished ? that is, the inter-envelope space (IES), the stroma and the thylakoid lumen. Several other targeting and translocation systems are therefore also present in chloroplasts to direct proteins to each of the six subcompartments. An electron micrograph of an isolated Pisum sativum chloroplast is shown, and the enlargement on the far right shows the typical organization of thylakoids. Granal membranes are preferentially enriched in photosystem II (blue) and the cytochrome b 6 f complex (purple), whereas stromal membranes are enriched in photosystem I (red) and the ATP synthase (green). P N PM Cell wall Chloroplast TOC TIC Stroma IE IES IES IE OE OE Stroma Granal membranes Stromal membranes Thylakoid lumen M Cytosol � 2004 Nature Publishing Group 200 | MARCH 2004 | VOLUME 5 www.nature.com/reviews/molcellbio REVIEWS peptides carry an overall positive charge and are enriched in the hydroxylated amino acids serine and threonine. In aqueous solution, the transit peptide forms a random-coil structure 25 .Several, but not all, chloro- plast preproteins can be phosphorylated in the transit sequence by a cytosolic ATP-dependent protein kinase 26 . Phosphorylation leads to the binding of 14-3-3 PROTEINS, which, together with HSP70, can form a cytosolic guid- ance complex 27 (FIG. 1).Preproteins that are bound to the guidance complex are imported into chloroplasts more quickly than monomeric preproteins. Phosphorylation in the cytosol might therefore select a subclass of preproteins for preferential import 26,27 . Phosphorylation is not directly involved in targeting, because mutating the phosphorylation site does not result in mistargeting in vitro.Furthermore, the nature of the kinase that performs this phosphorylation is still unknown, so in vivo evidence for the importance of precursor phosphorylation is still missing. Transit- sequence recognition is achieved by the receptor polypeptide of the TOC complex. Less is known about the mechanism of presequence-independent insertion into the outer envelope. The TOC translocon The subunits of the TOC translocon were initially iden- tified by chemically crosslinking precursor proteins to neighbouring polypeptides or by membrane-complex isolation in the presence of detergent 28?33 .Due to the different energy requirements for preprotein binding (<50 �M NTP) and translocation (>100 �M NTP), dif- ferent translocon subunits could be identified. TOC75 and TOC159 were typically found crosslinked to pre- proteins at low GTP and ATP concentrations 31,34 , whereas TOC34 was mainly found to be crosslinked in the absence of GTP or ATP (REF. 35).From these studies, it was proposed that TOC159 functions as an initial receptor, whereas TOC34 has a later regulatory func- tion. However, it should be noted that the experimen- tal set up that was used was, biochemically, extremely complex. Chloroplasts always contain residual NTPs and NDPs, which, owing to the presence of myoki- nase and nucleoside diphosphate kinase 36 , can result in the production of every type of NTP or intercon- version between NTPs during the experiment. Nucleotide ?free? experiments might therefore actually not be completely nucleotide free. Furthermore, crosslinking experiments require that labelled prepro- teins accumulate at a certain site, so that they become detectable. Rapid kinetic intermediates are therefore difficult to identify in this type of experiment, so it is hard to deduce a clear series of steps in the import process from in organello studies. Nevertheless combining the techniques that are described above resulted in the identification of four TOC translocon subunits ? the two GTP-binding pro- teins TOC159 and TOC34 (REFS 28?30), the protein- import channel TOC75 (REFS 31,32,37), and TOC64 (REF. 38; FIG. 2).The former three subunits form a stable core complex of ~550 kDa, which has a stoichiometric ratio of 4:4:1 for TOC34:TOC75:TOC159 (REF. 39).In fully folded 15?18 .This is also necessary because polypep- tides have to cross the envelope translocons in a largely unstructured, extended conformation. A common motif for targeting has not yet been identified in chloroplast transit sequences, but, in gen- eral, the transit sequences vary in length from 20?150 amino acids. Proteins that are localized in the thylakoid lumen contain bipartite targeting signals. The amino- proximal portion functions as a chloroplast-targeting, envelope-transfer domain, whereas the carboxy-proxi- mal portion functions as a thylakoid-transfer domain 19?22 .Other preproteins are synthesized without a cleavable transit sequence and contain their targeting information in the mature part of the protein (FIG. 1). This group of preproteins includes almost all of the outer-envelope proteins 23 , as well as one protein from the inner-envelope membrane so far 24 .Cleavable transit 14-3-3 PROTEINS A family of ubiquitous regulatory molecules that function through protein?protein interactions. Figure 1 | Protein-import pathways into chloroplasts. In the cytosol, preproteins with an amino-terminal presequence or transit sequence (yellow) can form a cytosolic guidance complex on phosphorylation in the cytosol. This guidance complex consists of an HSP70 (heat shock protein-70) chaperone and a 14-3-3 dimer. Altenatively, non-phosphorylated preproteins can associate with TOC159 (translocon of the outer chloroplast envelope-159) or with HSP70. All these complexes bind to TOC receptors in a GTP-dependent manner. A soluble TOC159 receptor might shuttle between the cytosol and the TOC complex bringing preproteins to the organelle surface. In a joint effort between TOC and TIC, preproteins are imported across both membranes in an NTP-dependent manner. The transit sequences are cleaved off by the stromal processing peptidase (SPP). Mature proteins either fold and assemble in the stroma or are directed to the thylakoids by various pathways. Preproteins without a cleavable transit sequence are mostly bound by HSP70 and targeted to the outer envelope. They can insert spontaneously into the membrane in vitro, although the process might be facilitated by proteinaceous factors in vivo, which still need to be identified (highlighted by a question mark). ALB3, albino3; IE, inner envelope; IES, inter-envelope space; OE, outer envelope; OEP, outer-envelope protein; SEC, secretory pathway; SRP; signal-recognition particle; TAT, twin-arginine translocase; TIC, translocon of the inner chloroplast envelope. SRP/ALB3 TAT SEC Ribosome Preprotein Presequence GTP TOC TIC TOC159 14-3-3 HSP70 ATP SPP OE IES IE Stroma Cytosol Chloroplast Thylakoid OEP ? P � 2004 Nature Publishing Group NATURE REVIEWS | MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY VOLUME 5 | MARCH 2004 | 201 REVIEWS the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana,several genes exist for every TOC subunit 40 (see below). Transcriptional control and organ-specific expression might result in the formation of TOC complexes that have different selectivities and translocation proper- ties. Most of the in vitro biochemical data summarized below were obtained using TOC proteins from Pisum sativum,whereas the in vivo data were generally obtained from studies of A. thaliana.To distinguish between P. sativium and A. thaliana proteins, the pre- fixes Ps and At will be used. TOC33/34. TOC34 is anchored by its carboxy-terminal tail, and most of the protein, including the GTP-binding domain, is exposed to the cytosol 30 .Reconstituted TOC34 can directly interact with preprotein 12,41 . Preproteins are recognized with a high affinity when TOC34 is in its GTP-bound form 12,42 .The low endoge- nous GTPase activity of TOC34 (REF. 30) is stimulated up to 50-fold by the preprotein 43 .Therefore, the preprotein seems to function as a GTPase-activating protein, and such proteins are key for the regulation of GTPases in various systems 44 .TOC34?GDP has a much lower affin- ity for the preprotein 42 ,which is subsequently handed to the next TOC subunit. The next step in the TOC34 cycle is the release of GDP, which would normally be promoted by a GDP- exchange factor 45 .Such a factor has not yet been identi- fied, but a domain of TOC159 could possibly fulfil this role (see below). The nucleotide-free form of TOC34 can then take one of two routes. First, it can be recharged with GTP and enter a new round of precursor recognition and binding or, second, it can be phospho- rylated by an outer-envelope-localized, ATP-dependent protein kinase 46 . Phosphorylation inhibits GTP binding and therefore results in a complete switching off of the receptor. In A. thaliana,two homologues of Ps TOC34 are present 40 ? At TOC33, which seems to be a func- tional analogue of Ps TOC34, can also be switched off by phosphorylation, whereas At TOC34 seems not to be phosphorylated 47 . At TOC34 might therefore function as a constitutive receptor for protein import into differ- ent plastid types (see below) 48,49 (FIG. 3). A. thaliana has become a model organism, and it can be used for forward and reverse genetic approaches. The roles of several TOC and TIC subunits in chloroplast biogenesis have therefore been studied in plants con- taining either antisense-RNA constructs ? which lead to a reduction, but not a complete absence, of the tar- get protein ? or T-DNA insertions, which lead to a com- plete knockout of the target gene product. The reduc- tion or knockout of translocon subunits that are essential for translocon function should result in severe defects in chloroplast/plastid biogenesis (for example, a loss of the ability to grow PHOTOAUTOTROPHICALLY), or should lead to lethality, which is normally manifested as an embryo lethality that results in early SEED ABORTION. The plastid-protein-import (ppi) mutants have been numbered consecutively and the first to be isolated was a knockout of At toc33 (REF. 50; At TOC33 is a functional analogue of Ps TOC34 (see above)). This ppi1 mutant T-DNA (transfer DNA). The part of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens tumour-inducing (Ti) plasmid that is incorporated into the genome of infected plant cells. These conjugative plasmids can be used as tools to insert foreign DNA into plant cells. PHOTOAUTOTROPHIC Organisms ? for example, plants or cyanobacteria ? that use light as an energy source to convert inorganic material into organic matter. SEED ABORTION The development of a seed ? that is, an embryo ? is stopped because of a fatal error in differentiation. Figure 2 | The chloroplast translocon complexes. The import machines in the outer (TOC) and inner (TIC) envelope from Pisum sativum have distinct subunit compositions. The TOC core complex is formed by the GTP-dependent receptor TOC34, the import channel TOC75 and the GTP-driven motor protein TOC159. TOC34 and TOC159 can be regulated by protein phosphorylation. The insert shows a three-dimensional reconstruction of a negatively stained electron-microscopy image that was obtained of the purified TOC core complex from P. sativum. TOC64 might function as a docking protein for HSP70 (heat shock protein-70)-guided preproteins ? it is only loosely attached to the core complex. TIC110 might form the translocation channel of the TIC complex, and TIC20 might also be part of this channel (please refer to the text for further details). TIC40, which is closely associated with TIC110, might function as a chaperone-recruiting site. TIC22, which is localized in the inter-envelope space, might coordinate TIC and TOC function. The redox components TIC55 and TIC62 are proposed to regulate translocation through the TIC complex, and the binding of ferredoxin NAD(P) reductase (FNR) to TIC62 allows the TIC complex to sense the redox state of the chloroplast. TIC62 also contains a conserved NAD(P)-binding site. TIC55 contains an iron?sulphur centre and a mononuclear iron-binding site. The figure reflects only the subunit composition of the TIC and TOC complex as published to date, and does not reflect stoichiometric ratios, definitive functions or correct protein topologies. The electron-microscopy insert in the figure was reproduced with permission from REF. 39 � (2003) The Rockefeller University Press. GTP NADH GTP P P TOC159 TOC64 TOC75 TOC34 TIC62TIC55 TIC110 TIC40 TIC20 FNR Preprotein Presequence OE Cytosol IES Stroma IE TIC22 � 2004 Nature Publishing Group 202 | MARCH 2004 | VOLUME 5 www.nature.com/reviews/molcellbio REVIEWS indicates that the chloroplasts experience an overall stress. The transcription of the TOC and TIC subunits is slightly upregulated. Surprisingly, though, the gene that encodes At TOC34 is downregulated in ppi1 plants 51 , although artificial overexpression of At TOC34 in a ppi1 background can completely reverse the ppi1 phenotype 50 . TOC159. TOC159 is a second GTP-binding subunit of the translocon 28,29 .The full-length protein can be divided into three regions: an amino-terminal A-domain, which is rich in acidic amino acids; a central G-domain, which contains the GTP-binding site and is highly similar to the corresponding region in TOC34; and finally the carboxy-terminal membrane or M- domain 52?54 .A small family of TOC159-like proteins is present in A. thaliana 53 , and it comprises TOC159, TOC132,TOC120 and TOC90. The A-domain becomes progressively smaller as the molecular size of the family members decreases and it is finally absent from At TOC90. The G-domain and M-domain are conserved between members of the family 53 .It has therefore been speculated that the A-domain defines certain substrate selectivities, whereas the G- and M- domains represent the more conserved or catalytic properties of this translocon subunit 52,53 .Fromin vitro experiments, we have evidence for two functions of TOC159 (REF. 41). First, it recognizes preproteins in a GTP-dependent manner, which is consistent with its proposed role as a receptor protein. Second, it func- tions in translocation. The 52-kDa M-domain of has a pale-green phenotype and retarded chloroplast development. However, later in development, plants partially recover and are able to grow photoautotrophi- cally on soil. This phenotype is probably due to the presence of a homologue of At TOC33 in this organ- ism, that is, At TOC34 (REFS 48,50).Expression studies indicate that At TOC34 is constitutively expressed at low levels in all organs, whereas At TOC33 is upregu- lated in MERISTEMATIC and rapidly expanding leaf tissue 48,50 .In line with these data is the observation that At TOC33 is dispensable for root development 49 . To gether, the in vivo and in vitro results indicate that At TOC33 and At TOC34 have partially redundant functions. However, both receptors show clear prefer- ences for certain classes of preproteins 47,48,50 .Finally, the different post-translational regulation of At TOC33 and At TOC34 must be kept in mind. As the At TOC33 receptor can be switched off by phosphoryla- tion, the amount of At TOC33 protein does not repre- sent the amount of active protein 47 . How do plants respond to the inactivation of genes that encode translocon subunits? Only a limited amount of data are available, which makes it difficult to draw a comprehensive picture. However, the most details are available for TOC33/TOC34 (REF. 51).In ppi1 knockout plants, the nuclear genes that encode thy- lakoid-localized photosynthetic proteins tend to be downregulated, whereas genes that encode the proteins involved in carbon metabolism are upregulated. Genes that encode stress proteins ? such as HSP70 and the chaperonin-60 system ? are also upregulated, which MERISTEMATIC Actively dividing plant issue. Figure 3 | Model of the Arabidopsis thaliana TOC33 and TOC34 receptor cycles. The Arabidopsis thaliana (At)TOC33 (translocon of the outer chloroplast envelope-33) and At TOC34 receptors are activated by GTP binding. At TOC33/34?GTP binds the phosphorylated preprotein with high affinity. The preprotein activates the endogenous GTPase activity of At TOC33/34, which results in the hydrolysis of GTP. At TOC33/TOC34?GDP has a lower affinity for the preprotein, which is released to the next translocon subunit. After the release of GDP from At TOC33/34, the receptor can be recharged with GTP and enter a new receptor cycle. Alternatively, the At TOC33 receptor ? which seems to be the functional analogue of the Pisum sativum (Ps) TOC34 receptor ? can be turned off by phosphorylation, which inhibits GTP binding. Dephosphorylation of At TOC33 and Ps TOC34 is required for re-activation through GTP binding. The reaction cycles for a single At TOC 33 and a single At TOC34 are shown. Pi, inorganic phosphate. Modified with permission from REF. 21 � (2002) Elsevier. GTP GTP GTP GTP GDP GDP GDP ATP ADP Pi Pi P P GTP GTP GTP GDP GDP GDP Pi TOC33 cycle TOC34 cycle P P P P Preprotein Presequence P P P � 2004 Nature Publishing Group NATURE REVIEWS | MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY VOLUME 5 | MARCH 2004 | 203 REVIEWS the predominant isoform in developing chloroplasts, is affected is unknown 52 .Chloroplasts from ppi2 plants contain very low levels of typically imported photosynthetic proteins ? the residual import capacity is insufficient to support proper chloroplast development and results in the death of the seedling 52 .Whether chloroplasts from ppi2 plants can actually import non-photosynthetic gene-product precursors or contain levels of these polypeptides that are comparable to those in wild-type plants is not known 52 . Complementation of ppi2 plants with different TOC159 constructs showed that both the G- and M- domain are required to recover a wild-type-like pheno- type, whereas the A-domain is dispensable 58 . Plants complemented with the M-domain alone had a green- ish phenotype, which indicates that the G-domain is required for full restoration of function. In the absence of the G-domain, plants were yellowish, which again indicates that the M- and A-domains are not sufficient for complementation and that the highly charged A- domain exerts an inhibitory effect 58 .Similar results were obtained by transiently expressing different deletion constructs of At TOC159 and simultaneously studying the import of the presequence of the Rubisco small sub- unit fused to GFP. The deletion constructs containing the G- and M-domain together or the M-domain alone resulted in complete complementation, whereas in the absence of the G-domain ? that is, when the A- and M-domains were fused ? preprotein import was slow and some preproteins accumulated in the cytoplasm. This again indicated that the A-domain exerts an inhibitory effect on import in this mutant 58 .Together, these data indicate that the M-domain is probably essential, not only for TOC-complex assembly, but also as a functional part of the translocon. The G-domain is required for full complementation, as it constitutes part of the receptor and motor function. The role of the G-domain should become more obvious in kinetic studies, in which it will be possible to compare import rates rather than just a single endpoint after a long incu- bation time. From in organello studies, it is clear that removal of the G-domain still allows residual (by-pass) import under the appropriate conditions (for example, a high ATP concentration and a long incubation time) 60?62 .In these situations, the import yield can be up to 20% of the normal yield. TOC75. TOC75 is the most abundant outer-envelope protein. Structural analysis of TOC75 predicts that it forms a ?-barrel-type channel that, according to computer predictions, is lined by 16 transmembrane ?-sheets 63 .Heterologously expressed TOC75 forms a cation-selective, high-conductance ion channel when it is reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers 64 . Electrophysiological measurements indicated that the channel is ~25 � wide at the entrance, and constricts to ~15?17 � wide inside the channel. A width of 15 � could accommodate a polypeptide stretch that still retains some secondary structure 65 .The electrophysio- logical data also showed that TOC75 has a cytosolic TOC159 is close to the preprotein 35 ,which indicates that TOC159 is part of the translocation pore or that it might also contact the preprotein on the inter-envelope- space side of the outer envelope. In addition, TOC159 seems to provide the driving force for membrane translocation 41 (see below). TOC159 is the most promi- nent phosphoprotein in the outer envelope of P. sativum chloroplasts 46 , so it might be subject to a similar type of regulation as TOC34. A soluble form of TOC159 has been detected in the supernatant of mechanically ruptured P. sativum leaves 54 . Furthermore, overexpression of a TOC159?GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion protein in A. thaliana, which was under the control of the strong heterolo- gous CaMV 35S-promotor, led to the presence of the fusion protein in the cytosol. TOC159 has therefore been proposed to function as a soluble receptor that shuttles between the cytosol, where it picks up its cargo (preproteins), and the chloroplast surface, where it delivers its cargo to the TOC translocon 54 .Direct experimental support for this idea is lacking. However, the insertion of soluble TOC159 into the outer enve- lope is facilitated by interaction with TOC34, which could provide a mechanism for TOC-complex assem- bly and insertion of a receptor?preprotein shuttle 55?57 . Furthermore, Hwang and colleagues made stable com- plementation lines of the ppi2 mutant, which is defec- tive in TOC159, using either full-length At TOC159 fused to GFP or the M-domain of At TOC159 fused to a T7 reporter tag (both were under the control of the CaMV 35S-promoter) 58 .Under the conditions used, they did not observe a soluble form of the At TOC159 M-domain ? the fusion protein was localized exclu- sively to the outer envelope. However, the full-length fusion protein had a dual location ? it partitioned between the chloroplast surface and the cytosol 58 .As already noted for mitochondria, even mild overexpres- sion can result in protein-import failure and can therefore lead to mislocalization to other cellular compart- ments 59 .Our own data indicate that the soluble form of TOC159 is associated with chloroplast-specific lipids, which could indicate that TOC159 is present in low-density membrane fragments 97 . The ppi2-mutant phenotype 52 is much more severe than that of ppi1, the At toc33 knockout. The mutant lines have an albino phenotype ? leaf plastids do not differentiate into chloroplasts (that is, no thylakoid formation occurs), and the plants are unable to grow on soil and die at the COTYLEDON STAGE 52 .The typical nuclear-encoded gene products that are required for photosynthesis ? such as the light-harvesting chloro- phyll a/b-binding protein and the small subunit of Rubisco ? are dramatically downregulated in ppi2 plastids 52 .This indicates that other members of the TOC159 family, such as TOC132 or TOC120, cannot fully replace TOC159 and have specialized functions in organelle biogenesis, for example, in the import of non-photosynthetic gene products 52 .The levels of At TOC75 and At TIC110 in ppi2 mutants are unaf- fected, while the transcription of At toc34 is enhanced 52 .How the regulation of At TOC33, which is COTYLEDON STAGE This stage corresponds to the appearance of the first ?leaves? that emerge during germination of the embryo. � 2004 Nature Publishing Group 204 | MARCH 2004 | VOLUME 5 www.nature.com/reviews/molcellbio REVIEWS of At TOC75III (REF. 66).It is not present in the TOC core complex, which could indicate that At TOC75V forms a specialized subset of import translocons. At TOC75V is homologous to proteins in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria (BOX 2), and it probably represents the most ancestral form of an organelle protein-import channel 66?68 .It is not clear whether At TOC75I and At TOC75IV are expressed at all in plants, because no expressed-sequence-tag clones have been found so far 40 . TOC64. The role of TOC64 is less well-defined. It has three exposed TETRATRICOPEPTIDE MOTIFS on the cytosolic face of the organelle 38 ,which are involved in protein?protein interactions. The peroxisomal import receptor PEX5 and the mitochondrial import receptor TOM70 have similar motifs 3,4 .TOM70 functions as a receptor for hydrophobic preproteins (such as carrier proteins that have several internal transport signals), which arrive at the organelle surface as a preprotein?HSP70 complex. The HSP70 chaperone docks onto a specialized tetratricopeptide-repeat domain of the TOM70 import receptor and catalyses the productive transfer of the preprotein to the translo- con 69,70 .A similar role could be envisioned for TOC64. Reconstitution of TOC translocation. In vitro reconsti- tution experiments represent a useful tool to define more precisely the sequence of events that lead from recognition to translocation, and to characterize single subunits biochemically. The TOC core complex can be isolated from purified envelope membranes as a func- tionally active unit 33,71 .Analysis of the complex by transmission electron microscopy shows a particle with a diameter of ~130 �, and a three-dimensional reconstruction map indicates a central finger-like region that separates four curved translocation chan- nels 39 (see the inset in FIG. 2). Reconstitution of this TOC core complex into liposomes showed that it is fully import competent ? that is, it could recognize and translocate a preprotein across the liposomal membrane in a GTP-dependent manner 41 .No other nucleoside triphosphate could replace the GTP requirement. Further dissection of this system using single purified TOC subunits showed that TOC34 and TOC159, but not TOC75, can function as GTP-depen- dent preprotein-binding proteins, that is, receptors. In addition, the reconstitution of TOC75 together with TOC159, but not with TOC34, resulted in preprotein import into a lipid micelle in a GTP-dependent man- ner 41 .The hydrolysis of GTP by TOC159 is therefore the sole driving force for preprotein translocation in vitro. GTP hydrolysis by TOC159 might provoke a confor- mational change that, in a ?sewing machine?-type mechanism, pushes the preprotein through the TOC75 channel (FIG. 4).TOC75 and TOC159 form the mini- mal translocon unit in vitro that is able to specifically recognize and translocate chloroplast preproteins across a membrane. TOC34 could therefore represent the initial receptor for incoming preproteins. The transfer of the preprotein from TOC34 to TOC159 preprotein-binding site, which is able to distinguish between the precursor protein and the mature form 34,64,65 .The binding affinity of TOC75 for prepro- teins is, however, lower than that of TOC34 or TOC159. A number of TOC75 isoforms are present in A. thaliana, and they are named according to the chromo- somal location of the genes 40 . At TOC75III is the most abundant outer-envelope protein and is present in the isolated TOC core complex 39 .A viable At toc75III- knockout mutant has not been reported so far, which could indicate an essential role for this protein in chloroplast biogenesis. At TOC75V is present in the outer envelope with an abundance of less than 10% that TETRATRICOPEPTIDE MOTIF A loosely conserved domain of 30?40 amino acids that is involved in protein?protein interactions. Box 2 | Endosymbiotic origin of chloroplast translocon subunits Endosymbiosis was accompanied by massive gene transfer from the endosymbiont to the host nucleus. However, before genes could be eliminated from the endosymbiont genome, a system to import the now nuclear-encoded gene products into the new organelle had to be established. Although the endosymbiotic bacterium had several systems to export (or secrete) proteins across the membranes, the organelle now had to import proteins (see figure). Most striking is the homology of the translocon of the outer-chloroplast-envelope subunit TOC75 to bacterial outer-membrane proteins that are involved in the transport of polypeptides across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria 95,96 . This conserved ?-barrel, bacterial-type channel now forms the outer-chloroplast-envelope import channel. The TOC75 homologue in cyanobacteria, SynToc75 seems to be indispensable for growth 67,68 .A ?-barrel ion channel has, in most cases, no strong preference for the direction of ion permeation and therefore represents an ideal starting point to build a translocon. Subunits that convey the specificity and directionality of transport are eukaryotic additions, for example, the TOC34 receptor and the TOC159 motor. But, what formed the translocon of the inner chloroplast envelope (TIC)? There is no detectable homologue for the putative TIC110 channel, and the putative second channel subunit TIC20 shows only a low homology to bacterial proteins. Maybe the early endosymbiont continued to use bacterial export systems in reverse, such as the secretory pathway (SEC), the twin-arginine translocon (TAT) system or the albino3 (ALB3) homologue YIDC 8,10 . Therefore, the TIC translocon ? including the adaptation of chaperones in the stroma to provide the driving force for import ? could have been an invention of the endosymbiont. Gram-negative bacteria, including cyanobacteria, use the Sec or the Tat system, YidC and an SRP (signal-recognition particle)-dependent pathway to translocate proteins into and across the plasma membrane and the thylakoid membranes. All these systems are still operational in chloroplasts today and are essential for thylakoid biogenesis. ChloroplastCyanobacterium SEC TAT Sec Tat YidC SRP ALB3 SRP TOC34 TOC75 TOC159 TIC20 TIC110 SynToc75 Import Export � 2004 Nature Publishing Group NATURE REVIEWS | MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY VOLUME 5 | MARCH 2004 | 205 REVIEWS anchor the protein in the inner-envelope membrane 81 . The topology of the large 80-kDa carboxy-terminal region is not completely resolved (see below). TIC110 is the most abundant and best studied TIC subunit 79?82 . On the inter-envelope-space side, it seems to be in the close vicinity of, or even in contact with, the TOC translocon, because TIC110 often co-fractionates with the TOC complex 32 . On the stromal side of the inner envelope, TIC110 could interact with molecular chaper- ones such as HSP93 and chaperonin-60 (REFS 79,80). Whether such interactions occur directly or through other TIC subunits remains to be established. Reconstitution experiments using heterologously expressed protein showed that TIC110 can form a cation-selective channel in lipid bilayers 83 .The electro- physiological properties of this channel indicate a pore size of ~15?20 �, which is similar to the size estimated for TOC75 and is sufficient to allow the passage of a polypeptide chain. Whether further proteins, such as TIC20, participate in channel formation in vivo is unknown at present 84 . The exact function of TIC110 is, however, not fully understood at present. Topological studies that assessed the protease accessibility of TIC110 in either intact chloroplasts or isolated inner-envelope-membrane vesicles gave conflicting results. Studies in our labora- tory found that TIC110 was accessible to proteases from the inter-envelope space, which is indicative of an exposed domain or multiple transmembrane spans that are connected by protease-accessible loops 81 .Keegstra and colleagues, however, observed that TIC110 was inaccessible to proteases from the inter-envelope space, and therefore concluded that TIC110 exposes a large domain to the chloroplast stroma 85 .Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of heterologously expressed soluble TIC110 (residues 93?966) indicated a largely ?-helical conformation 86 ,whereas CD spectra recorded after the might be facilitated by the formation of a heterodimer. The recently obtained crystal structure of TOC34 (REF. 72) indicates that it can form homo-oligomers. Due to the extensive sequence similarity between TOC34 and TOC159 (REF. 28),hetero-oligomerization might also be possible 56,57 ,which would clearly facilitate a smooth transfer of preproteins from one subunit to another. Homotypic interactions between TOC34 and TOC159 occur preferentially when both proteins are in their GDP-bound form 73 . One could speculate that the interaction between TOC34 and TOC159 triggers a GDP-to-GTP exchange in TOC159, which would result in the transfer of the preprotein from TOC34?GDP to TOC159?GTP and subsequently in the dissociation of the TOC34?TOC159 heterodimer (not shown in FIG. 4). The GTP-regulated interaction of translocon subunits is also verified by co-translational protein-translocation systems in bacteria and eukaryotes 74 . The TIC translocon In most cases, proteins probably translocate through the TOC and TIC complexes simultaneously, although the TIC complex has the ability to retrieve and translocate preproteins that have been released into the inter-enve- lope space by the TOC translocon 75 .The translocation of preproteins across the inner-envelope membrane requires ATP hydrolysis 76?78 , and this ATP is probably needed for the action of molecular chaperones in the stroma, which provide the driving force to complete import into the organelle 79,80 .A membrane potential is not required for any step of the import process 76?78 . Several TIC subunits have been identified, and these are TIC110, TIC62, TIC55, TIC40, TIC22 and TIC20 (FIG. 2). TIC110, TIC62 and TIC55. TIC110 has one or two hydrophobic transmembrane ?-helices in its amino-ter- minal region 79,81 ,which are important to target and Figure 4 | Working hypothesis for the action of TOC159. A preprotein binds to translocon of the outer chloroplast envelope-34 (TOC34)?GTP and, on GTP hydrolysis, this preprotein is transferred to TOC159?GTP. TOC34 then releases GDP and rebinds GTP. In an action that also requires GTP hydrolysis, TOC159 then pushes the preprotein through the TOC75 import channel. A conformational change in TOC159 that is caused by GTP hydrolysis might move the preprotein forward into the channel in a ?sewing machine?-type mechanism. TOC159 then releases GDP and rebinds GTP. Although the TOC core complex is shown in the figure, the minimal complex that is needed for preprotein translocation across a membrane is composed of just TOC75 and TOC159. The gating mechanism of TOC75 is unknown at present. IES, inter-envelope space; OE, outer envelope; Pi, inorganic phosphate. GDP GTP GDPPi GTP Pi Closed TOC75 Open TOC75 GTP TOC159 GTP TOC34GDP TOC159 GDP TOC34 Preprotein Presequence Cytosol OE IES � 2004 Nature Publishing Group 206 | MARCH 2004 | VOLUME 5 www.nature.com/reviews/molcellbio REVIEWS TIC22. TIC22 is localized to the inter-envelope space and is only loosely bound to the inner-envelope mem- brane 84 .It might have a role in the coordination of TOC and TIC functions, or in the guidance of preproteins across the inter-envelope space. TIC20. TIC20 is an integral protein of the inner-enve- lope membrane and it has four putative transmem- brane ?-helices 84 .Due to its similarities to bacterial amino-acid transporters and to the mitochondrial import component TIM17 (REF. 92), it was proposed to participate in the formation of the TIC import channel 84 .However,no in vitro data support this idea so far. The importance of TIC20 for chloroplast biogenesis was studied using an antisense approach 93 .Two genes ? At tic20I and At tic20V ? encode the TIC20 isoforms (REF. 40). A. thaliana plants that were treated with anti- sense RNA against At tic20I showed reduced levels (between 20?50%) of At TIC20I protein compared to wild-type plants. Plants were viable on soil, but they were pale and the chloroplast ultrastructure showed impaired thylakoid formation 93 .Preprotein import into chloro- plasts that were isolated from these antisense plants was inhibited by 50%, although preprotein binding to TOC receptors remained normal, which indicates a selective defect in translocation across the inner membrane 93 .The expression of At tic20IV and the role of this isoform in antisense-At-tic20I-treated plants were not studied, but At TIC20IV might help to maintain a viable phenotype in these plants 93 .Although there were changes in the expression and protein levels of At TIC20I in plants treated with antisense At tic20I, no significant changes in the amount of the other TOC and TIC subunits could be detected 93 . Further insights into the transcriptional control of translocon subunits has come from an independent genetic screen that searched for protein-import mutants. In this screen, a leaf-specific transcription fac- tor was isolated that specifically upregulates At toc33 and At toc75III gene expression 94 .Mutant plants showed only basal transcription rates of the two genes, which were not sufficient to produce enough translocon sub- units for normal chloroplast biogenesis. Consequently, these plants had a pale-green phenotype, but could still grow photoautotrophically. Understanding the develop- mental and organ-specific control of the expression of translocon subunits should, in the future, enable us to predict translocon composition, selectivity and regula- tion within different plastid types. Conclusion and perspectives Protein import into chloroplasts is more complex than was previously anticipated. Regulatory circuits seem to operate at three different levels ? in the cytosol and at the TOC and TIC translocons. GTP-dependent regula- tion at the TOC complex superficially resembles the sig- nal-recognition-particle?Sec61 system. However, the actual import mechanism is a hybrid machine that uses a GTP-dependent motor to move proteins across the outer envelope, and it might be similar to the bacterial refolding of a similar TIC110 domain following treat- ment with 8 M urea indicated a high propensity for ?-strands 83 .Clearly more work is needed to settle this important issue. The TIC complex that was purified by blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has an apparent molecular weight of ~250 kDa (REF. 87).Abundant sub- units in this complex are TIC110, TIC62 and TIC55. The latter two have the potential to catalyse electron- transfer reactions 87,88 .TIC55 contains a IRON?SULPHUR CENTRE and a mononuclear iron-binding site 87 . TIC62 has a conserved NAD(P)-binding site. The carboxyl terminus of TIC62 is exposed to the stroma and interacts with ferredoxin NAD(P) reductase (FNR; FIG. 2), as deduced from yeast two-hydrid studies and affinity-chromatog- raphy experiments 88 . FNR couples photosynthetic elec- tron flux to the reduction of NAD(P)H. NAD(P)H is the primary reductant in CO 2 fixation, nitrogen and sul- phur reduction, as well as in fatty-acid and isoprenoid biosynthesis. The interaction between FNR and TIC62 might link the metabolic status of the chloroplast ? that is, the NAD(P)H:NAD(P) ratio ? to the import capacity of the TIC complex. Support for this idea comes from import experiments that used different ferredoxin isoforms 89 .Ferredoxin I, which is involved in photosynthetic electron flux, is imported both in light and dark conditions. Ferredoxin III, which is more involved in metabolic processes, is mistargeted in the light to the inter-envelope space. Only in the dark is ferredoxin III correctly imported into the stroma 89 . To gether, the available data indicate a clear potential for the redox regulation of preprotein import through the TIC complex. It is probable that not all preproteins are sensitive to this control, or that there are distinct TIC subtranslocons that have different regulatory properties. TIC40. TIC40 is an integral membrane component of the TIC complex and it seems to be tightly associated with TIC110 (REFS 90,91).The carboxy-terminal region is exposed on the stromal site of the inner envelope, and this region seems to have two functional domains. First, it is homologous to HSP70-interacting proteins as well as to HSP70/HSP90-organizing proteins 90 and, second, it has a tetratricopeptide domain for protein?protein interactions 91 .Immunoprecipitation experiments indi- cate not only a close association with TIC110, but also with stromal HSP93 (REF. 91). TIC40 is encoded by a single gene in A. thaliana 40 . A. thaliana plants that contain a T-DNA insertion in the At tic40 gene have a pale-green phenotype 91 .Their flowering is retarded and their thylakoid grana stacks are not as pronounced as they are in wild-type plants. Chloroplasts isolated from At tic40-knockout plants bind preproteins with an efficiency similar to that of wild-type plants; however, translocation into the stroma is reduced by 50% (REF. 91).These results support the proposed role for TIC40 in recruiting molecular chaperones to the TIC translocon, which concentrates these chaperones at, and coordinates chaperone action with, the sites of import 90 . IRON?SULPHUR CENTRE Iron ions that are complexed by inorganic sulphur and by the amino-acid cysteine function as redox elements in electron- transfer reactions. � 2004 Nature Publishing Group NATURE REVIEWS | MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY VOLUME 5 | MARCH 2004 | 207 REVIEWS determined to verify the expression profiles. Biochemical and biophysical methods must be used in reconstituted systems to pinpoint differences in the specificity and regulation of translocon subunits, as well as to understand the cooperation between them. Owing to its inborn complexity, the in vivo system is unable to tell us everything. Finally, our efforts to deter- mine the structures of single subunits and of entire complexes should help us to define the mechanistic basis of protein import into chloroplasts. SecA-dependent system, which translocates proteins across the inner bacterial membrane through the SecYEG translocon. The TIC translocon probably uses molecular chaperones as the driving force for transloca- tion and, in this respect, resembles the mitochondrial import system. Although most preproteins seem to use a general import pathway, the unexpected number of genes for isoforms of the TOC and TIC subunits seems to tell a different story. 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Acknowledgements We would like to thank colleagues who made manuscripts avail- able to us before their publication. The work described from our laboratory was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fonds der Chemischen Industrie and the Volkswagenstiftung. Competing interests statement The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests. Online links DATABASES The following terms in this article are linked online to: TAIR: http://www.arabidopsis.org/ HSP70 | TOC34 | TOC75 | TOC132 | TOC159 Access to this interactive links box is free online. � 2004 Nature Publishing Group "
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