Genetic engineering of thylakoid protein complexes by chloroplast transformation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Chloroplast transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has developed into a powerful tool for studying the structure, function and assembly of thylakoid protein complexes in a eukaryotic organism. In this article we review the progress that is being made in the development of procedures for efficient chloroplast transformation. This focuses on the development of selectable markers and the use of Chlamydomonas mutants, individually lacking thylakoid protein complexes, as recipients. Chloroplast transformation has now been used to engineer all four major thylakoid protein complexes, photosystem II, photosystem I, cytochrome b ₆/f and ATP synthase. These results are discussed with an emphasis on new insights into assembly and function of these complexes in chloroplasts as compared with their prokaryotic counterparts.Abbreviations ENDOR electron nuclear double resonance - ESEEM electron spin echo envelope modulation - LHC light harvesting complex - PSI Photosystem I - PS II Photosystem II - P₆₈₀ primary electron donor in PS II - P₇₀₀ primary electron donor in PS I