Sub‐proteome analysis in the green flagellate alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Abstract

In the past years, research on the flagellate unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has entered a new era based on the availability of its complete genome. Since this green alga can be grown relatively easy in a short time-range, sufficient biological material is available to efficiently establish biochemical purification procedures of sub-cellular fractions. Combined with the available genome sequences, this paved the way to perform analysis of specific sub-proteomes by mass spectrometry. In this review, several approaches that provided comprehensive lists of components of certain sub-cellular compartments and their biological relevance will be described. These include proteins of chloroplast ribosomes, of flagella, of the eyespot as well as posttranslational and environmentally modified sub-proteomes. The power of such proteome approaches lies in the identification of novel components and modifications of a given sub-proteome that have not been discovered before. Information is usually gained at a large scale and is very valuable to further understand biological processes of a given cellular sub-compartment. But clearly the arduous task has then to be performed to further analyze the function of specific proteins/genes by RNA interference technology, mutant analyses or methods for identifying the protein interaction network within a sub-proteome.

Metabolic labeling with stable isotope nitrogen (15N) to follow amino acid and protein turnover of three plastid proteins in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

“…There are various methods used to quantify proteins from different plant species [1] including the single cellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii [2,3]. 15 NH 4 Cl (98% 15 N) has been used as the label source coupled to blue-native PAGE, to examine dimerization of the chloroplast CF o F 1 ATP synthase [4].…”

Differential Proteome Analysis of <i>Chlamydomonas reinhardtii</i> Response to Arsenic Exposure

“…The alga's complete genome is available [13] and research on its proteome and metabolome are being performed [14] and its sub-proteome [15] and chloroplast proteome have been studied in detail [16]. It is easy to grow, has a short-life cycle and a large number of experimental parameters can be incorporated into the study.…”

Phylogenomic analysis of the Chlamydomonas genome unmasks proteins potentially involved in photosynthetic function and regulation

“…The rapid expansion of genomic sequence information for Chlamydomonas has also stimulated the establishment of strong proteomic initiatives (Stauber and Hippler 2004; Wagner et al 2004, 2008, 2009; Keller et al 2005; Schmidt et al 2006; Naumann et al 2007; Ozawa et al 2009; Rolland et al 2009) and integrative systems databases (May et al 2008, 2009). Much of our attention has been focused on mechanisms of photosynthetic electron transport and its regulation and identification of specific genes/proteins associated with functional and regulatory aspects of photosynthesis, with an emphasis on acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus to environmental change.…”