FEBS Letters · 1999 · 85 citations · 43 references
Life SciencesMolecular BiologyPlant BiologyPlant BiochemistryPlant Cell BiologyPlant Molecular BiologyChloroplast BiochemistryChloroplast BiologyChloroplast GeneticsChloroplast StructureChloroplast UltrastructureThylakoid Membrane StructureSequence SimilaritySignal Recognition Particle TargetingSrp ReceptorThylakoid Membrane FunctionThylakoid Membrane OrganizationThylakoid Membrane Protein InsertionThylakoid OrganizationTransit Peptide Targeting
We isolated an Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA whose translated product shows sequence similarity to the FtsY, a bacterial homologue of SRP receptor protein. The Arabidopsis FtsY homologue contains a typical chloroplast transit peptide. The in vitro-synthesized 37 kDa FtsY homologue was imported into chloroplasts, and the processed 32 kDa polypeptide bound peripherally on the outer surface of thylakoids. Antibodies raised against the FtsY homologue also reacted with a thylakoid-bound 32 kDa protein. The antibodies inhibited the cpSRP-dependent insertion of the light-harvesting chlorophyll alb-binding protein into thylakoid membranes suggesting that the chloroplast FtsY homologue is involved in the cpSRP-dependent protein targeting to the thylakoid membranes.
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