Development of live-cell imaging for photosystem proteins by using the Physcomitrella patens giant chloroplasts

我们开发了一种成像技术，使用共聚焦显微镜来观察活植物细胞中的光合蛋白。利用核基因同源重组率极高的苔藓小立Physcomitrella patens，将绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）融合到苔藓特有的光收集天线蛋白LHCB9的c端区域。因此，我们首次在活的植物细胞的巨大叶绿体类囊体膜中可视化了LHCB9-GFP。本研究结果将为叶绿体类囊体膜中光能转移相关的其他重要蛋白质的可视化提供参考。

We developed the imaging technique using a confocal microscopy to observed photosynthetic proteins in live plant cells. Using a moss Physcomitrella patens, whose rate of homologous recombination of the nuclear genes is extremely high, we fused a green fluorescent protein (GFP) to the C-terminal region of LHCB9, a moss specific light-harvesting antenna protein. As a result, we visualized the LHCB9-GFP in the giant chloroplast thylakoid membranes in live plant cells for the first time. The results obtained here will be useful for the visualization of other important proteins related to the light energy transfer in chloroplast thylakoid membranes.