New study shows OPR protein function is important for efficient photosynthesis
Green algae and higher plants both harbor specialized cell organelles – the chloroplasts – in which photosynthesis takes place. This process allows these organisms to utilize energy from sunlight to power their biochemical reactions, including the production of carbohydrates. Chloroplasts are descended from formerly free-living single-celled organisms that were engulfed by other cells millions of years ago, and have survived since then because their hosts benefit from their activities. Chloroplasts have retained their own genomic DNA – albeit much reduced in size – it now carries only around 100 genes. The expression of the genes in the chloroplast is largely under the control of so-called Helical Repeat Proteins, termed PPRs and TPRs, which are encoded in the cell nucleus.