RUI: Characterization of Virescent Mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana

植物分生组织中有9600532个未分化的细胞含有原生质体。当叶片开始发育时，原生质体发育成叶绿体，叶绿体是光合作用和固碳的场所。尽管从许多植物物种中分离到了大量改变叶绿体的突变，但到目前为止还没有人对参与叶绿体发育的分子事件有清楚的了解。拟南芥提供了一个了解这一过程的机会，因为通过突变鉴定的基因是可以克隆的。在模式植物拟南芥中分离出了绿色突变体，这些突变体表现出绿色延迟，因此叶绿体发育延迟。本研究的目的是对这些突变体进行生化和遗传学鉴定，以确定哪些突变体可能在调控叶绿体发育的信号转导途径中存在缺陷。第二个目标是分析所有突变体的色素和蛋白质，无论是调节性的还是非调节性的。在高等植物中，LHC的组装还没有在遗传水平上得到广泛的研究。叶绿体对地球上的生命是必不可少的，因为光合作用产生氧气并消耗二氧化碳。清楚地了解执行这一重要功能的细胞器的发展对于农业和全球变暖的研究是重要的。

9600532 Brusslan Undifferentiated cells of the plant meristem contain proplastids. When leaf development is initiated, proplastids develop into chloroplasts, the site of photosynthesis and carbon fixation. Although numerous mutations that alter the chloroplast have been isolated from a large number of plant species, none so far have led to a clear understanding of the molecular events involved in chloroplast development. Arabidopsis thaliana offers an opportunity to understand this process because genes identified by mutation can be cloned. Virescent mutants that display a delay in greening and hence a delay in chloroplast development, have been isolated in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The goal of this research is to characterize these mutants biochemically and genetically in order to determine which mutants are likely to be defective in the signal transduction pathways that regulate chlorplast development. A second goal is to analyze the pigments and proteins of the light harvesting complexes (LHCs) of all mutants, regulatory or non-regulatory. The assembly of the LHCs has not been regorously investigated on a genetic level in higher plants. Chloroplasts are essential for life on earth because photosynthesis produces oxygen and consumes carbon dioxide. A clear understanding of the development of the organelle that performs this important function is important for agriculatural and global warming research.