Successful Observation of Chloroplast Fragmentation via Autophagy

November 12, 2024

Elucidating the Transport Process of Chloroplast Components through Autophagy

A collaborative research team led by the RIKEN CSRS has directly captured the process in which portions of chloroplasts are fragmented and transported into the vacuole through autophagy (self-eating) to be degraded. It is known that plants degrade chloroplasts actively in senescing leaves or leaves experiencing starvation to facilitate nutrient recycle for the formation of young leaves and adaptation to starvation. However, how chloroplast contents are transported into the vacuole via autophagy has remained unclear.

To capture the sequence of this autophagy process, the research team developed a high-resolution live-cell imaging technique that allows them to track morphological changes in leaf chloroplasts on the second timescale. Accordingly, the team successfully observed that part of the chloroplast form a budding structure, divide and is transported into the vacuole for degradation.

In modern agriculture, large amounts of chemical fertilizers are applied for sufficient productivity; however, it also causes negative effects on the environment. Understanding the detailed mechanism of this "recycling of chloroplast components" is expected to contribute to the development of technologies improving the issue of over-fertilization.

Original article

eLife doi: 10.7554/eLife.93232.3

M. Izumi, S. Nakamura, K. Otomo, H. Ishida, J. Hidema, T. Nemoto, S. Hagihara,

"Autophagosome development and chloroplast segmentation occur synchronously for piecemeal degradation of chloroplasts".

Contact

Masanori Izumi; Senior Scientist
Shinya Hagihara; Team Leader
Molecular Bioregulation Research Team