Trafficking of DNA between chloroplast and nucleus in higher plants

可靠的是，植物叶绿体可以产生高水平的各种蛋白质。叶绿体基因的环境风险被认为很低，因为它们不是通过花粉传播的。然而，我们最近发现，DNA以出人意料的高频率从烟草叶绿体逃逸到细胞核。相关的环境风险需要立即调查。该项目将决定转移到核基因组的叶绿体DNA的命运，并深入了解叶绿体DNA逃逸的进化和环境后果。DNA逃逸的普遍性也将在一种基因组较小的可食用作物--番茄上进行研究。

Reliably high levels of diverse proteins can be produced in plant chloroplasts. Environmental risks are considered low for chloroplast genes because they are not transmitted by pollen. However, we recently discovered that DNA escapes from the tobacco chloroplast to the nucleus with unexpectedly high frequency. The associated environmental risks require immediate investigation. This project will determine the fate of chloroplast DNA that has moved to the nuclear genome and gain insight into the evolutionary and environmental consequences of chloroplast DNA escape. The ubiquity of DNA escape also will be studied in an edible crop with a small genome, tomato.