Photosynthetic directed endosymbiosis to investigate the role of bioenergetics in chloroplast function and evolution

Abstract Cyanobacterial photosynthesis (to produce ATP and NADPH) might have played a pivotal role in the endosymbiotic evolution to chloroplast. However, rather than meeting the ATP requirements of the host cell, the modern-day land plant chloroplasts are suggested to utilize photosynthesized ATP p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bidhan Chandra De, Jay Cournoyer, Yang-le Gao, Catherine L. Wallace, Stanley Bram, Angad P. Mehta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-12-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54051-1
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Summary:Abstract Cyanobacterial photosynthesis (to produce ATP and NADPH) might have played a pivotal role in the endosymbiotic evolution to chloroplast. However, rather than meeting the ATP requirements of the host cell, the modern-day land plant chloroplasts are suggested to utilize photosynthesized ATP predominantly for carbon assimilation. This is further highlighted by the fact that the plastidic ADP/ATP carrier translocases from land plants preferentially import ATP. Here, we investigate the preferences of plastidic ADP/ATP carrier translocases from key lineages of photosynthetic eukaryotes including red algae, glaucophytes, and land plants. Particularly, we observe that the cyanobacterial endosymbionts expressing plastidic ADP/ATP carrier translocases from red algae and glaucophyte are able to export ATP and support ATP dependent endosymbiosis, whereas those expressing ADP/ATP carrier translocases from land plants preferentially import ATP and are unable to support ATP dependent endosymbiosis. These data are consistent with a scenario where the ancestral plastids may have exported ATP to support the bioenergetic functions of the host cell.
ISSN:2041-1723