Felix Kessler

Université de Neuchâtel | UniNE · Institut de biologie (IBIOL)

Plastoglobules (PGs) contiguous with the outer leaflets of thylakoid membranes regulate lipid metabolism, plastid developmental transitions, and responses to environmental stimuli. However, the function of OsFBN7 , a PG‐core fibrillin gene in rice, has not been elucidated. Using molecular genetics and physiobiochemical approaches, we observed that...

Background Isoprenoids are a very large class of metabolites playing a key role in plant physiological processes such as growth, stress resistance, fruit flavor, and color. In chloroplasts and chromoplasts, the diterpene compound geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) is the metabolic precursor required for the biosynthesis of tocopherols, plastoquinone...

Sunny days for chloroplast protein import: Srinivasan et al. (2023) report on the isolation and provide the first structural information on the pea TOC complex that mediates protein translocation across the outer chloroplast membrane. While two cryoEM structures for algal import complexes have been published, this is the gateway to long-sought-afte...

Background Isoprenoids are a very large class of metabolites playing a key role in plant physiological processes such as growth, stress resistance, fruit flavor, and color. In chloroplasts and chromoplasts, the diterpene compound geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) is the metabolic precursor required for the biosynthesis of tocopherols, plastoquinone...

The enrichment of plant tissues in tocochromanols (tocopherols and tocotrienols) is an important biotechnological goal due to their vitamin E and antioxidant properties. Improvements based on stimulating tocochromanol biosynthesis have repeatedly been achieved, however, enhancing sequestering and storage in plant plastids remains virtually unexplor...

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit maturation is associated with a developmental transition from chloroplasts (in mature green fruit) to chromoplasts (in red fruit). The hallmark red color of ripe tomatoes is due to carotenogenesis and accumulation of the red carotenoid lycopene inside chromoplasts. Plastoglobules (PG) are lipid droplets in plasti...

Plant tissues can be enriched in phytonutrients not only by stimulating their biosynthesis but also by providing appropriate sink structures for their sequestering and storage. In the case of carotenoids, they accumulate at high levels in chromoplasts naturally found in flowers and fruit. Chromoplasts can also be artificially differentiated from le...

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit maturation is associated with a developmental transition from chloroplasts (in mature green fruit) to chromoplasts (in red fruit). The hallmark red color of ripe tomatoes is due to carotenogenesis and accumulation of the red carotenoid lycopene inside chromoplasts. Plastoglobules (PG) are lipid droplets in plasti...

The clove ( Syzygium aromaticum ) is an important tropical spice crop in global trade. Evolving environmental pressures necessitate modern characterization and selection techniques that are currently inaccessible to clove growers owing to the scarcity of genomic and genetic information. Here, we present a 370-Mb high-quality chromosome-scale genome...

Enriching plant tissues in phytonutrients can be done by stimulating their biosynthesis but also by providing appropriate sink structures for their sequestering and storage. Chromoplasts are plastids specialized in the production and accumulation of carotenoids that are naturally formed in non-photosynthetic tissues such as flower petals and ripe f...

Chloroplasts in plant and algae are the home of photosynthesis and many essential metabolic pathways. The photosynthetic light reactions occur at an extensive membrane system, the thylakoids. The main constituents of thylakoid membranes are the galactolipids, in particular monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG). A...

Multiple chloroplast-to-nucleus signaling pathways contribute to the regulation of chloroplast biogenesis during plant greening. Here, we provide evidence for the direct implication of the atypical kinase ABC1K1. ABC1K1 is required for sufficient plastoquinone (PQ) allocation to the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Unexpectedly, mutation of...

Light triggers chloroplast differentiation whereby the etioplast transforms into a photosynthesizing chloroplast and the thylakoid rapidly emerges. However, the sequence of events during chloroplast differentiation remains poorly understood. Using Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBF-SEM), we generated a series of chloroplast 3D reco...

Chloroplast biogenesis describes the transition of non-photosynthetic proplastids to photosynthetically active chloroplasts in the cells of germinating seeds. Chloroplast biogenesis requires the import of thousands of nuclear-encoded preproteins by essential import receptor TOC159. We demonstrate that the SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) pat...

Light triggers chloroplast differentiation whereby the etioplast transforms into a photosynthesizing chloroplast and the thylakoid rapidly emerges. However, the sequence of events during chloroplast differentiation remains poorly understood. Using Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBF-SEM), we generated a series of chloroplast 3D reco...

Chloroplast biogenesis describes the transition of non-photosynthetic proplastids to photosynthetically active chloroplasts in the cells of germinating seeds. Chloroplast biogenesis requires the import of thousands of nuclear-encoded preproteins and depends on the essential import receptor TOC159, mutation of which results in non-photosynthetic alb...

Photosynthesis is an essential pathway providing the chemical energy and reducing equivalents that sustain higher plant metabolism. It relies on sunlight, which is an inconstant source of energy that fluctuates in both intensity and spectrum. The fine and rapid tuning of the photosynthetic apparatus is essential to cope with changing light conditio...

Heme plays an active role in primary plant metabolic pathways as well as in stress signaling. In this study, we characterized the predicted heme-binding protein SOUL4. Proteomics evidence suggests that SOUL4 is a component of Arabidopsis plastoglobules (PGs, chloroplast lipid droplets). SOUL4 contains heme-binding motifs and the recombinant protein...

A genetic screen has identified the first signaling component of the unfolded protein response in chloroplasts.

Photosynthesis produces organic carbon via a light-driven electron flow from H2O to CO2 that passes through a pool of plastoquinone molecules. These molecules are either present in the photosynthetic thylakoid membranes, participating in photochemistry (photoactive pool), or stored (non-photoactive pool) in thylakoid-attached lipid droplets, the pl...

Around 100 proteins are produced inside the chloroplast but the vast majority must be imported. These proteins are synthesized in the cytosol as preproteins with cleavable targeting sequences. Several plastid types other than chloroplasts exist. During plant development, one plastid type may be converted to another, a process referred to as plastid...

Chloroplast biogenesis requires the import of thousands of nucleus-encoded proteins into the plastid. The import of these proteins depends on the translocon at the outer (TOC) and inner (TIC) chloroplast membranes. The TOC and TIC complexes are multimeric and probably contain yet unknown components. One of the main goals in the field is to establis...

Chloroplast biogenesis, visible as greening, is the key to photoautotrophic growth in plants. At the organelle level, it requires the development of non-photosynthetic, color-less proplastids to photosynthetically active, green chloroplasts at early stages of plant development, i.e., in germinating seeds. This depends on the import of thousands of...

Malate dehydrogenases (MDH) convert malate to oxaloacetate using NAD(H) or NADP(H) as a cofactor. Arabidopsis thaliana mutants lacking plastidial NAD-dependent MDH (pdnad-mdh) are embryo-lethal, and constitutive silencing (miR-mdh-1) causes a pale, dwarfed phenotype. The reason for these severe phenotypes is unknown. Here, we rescued the embryo let...

Plastoglobuli (PGs) are plastid lipoprotein particles surrounded by a membrane lipid monolayer. PGs contain small specialized proteomes and metabolomes. They are present in different plastid types (e.g., chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and elaioplasts) and are dynamic in size and shape in response to abiotic stress or developmental transitions. PGs in...

The biogenesis and maintenance of cell organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts requires the import of many proteins from the cytosol, a process that is controlled by phosphorylation. In the case of chloroplasts, the import of hundreds of different proteins depends on Translocons at the Outer and Inner Chloroplast membrane (TOC and TIC, res...

In a changing environment, plants need to cope with the impact of rising temperatures together with high light intensity. Here, we used lipidomics in the tomato model system to identify lipophilic molecules that enhance tolerance to combined high-temperature and highlight stress. Among several hundred metabolites, the two most strongly up-regulated...

Carotenoids play an essential role in light harvesting and protection from excess light. During chloroplast senescence carotenoids are released from their binding proteins and are eventually metabolized. Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 (CCD4) is involved in carotenoid breakdown in senescing leaf and desiccating seed, and is part of the proteome o...

Plastoglobules (PG) are lipid droplets that are structurally and functionally associated with the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. PG thus effectively form a thylakoid membrane microdomain. The thylakoid membranes provide the environment for the photosynthetic light reactions. The thylakoid membranes in majority consist of bilayer forming galac...

Increased temperatures are a major scenario in climate change and present a threat to plant growth and agriculture. Plant growth depends on photosynthesis. To function optimally, the photosynthetic machinery at the thylakoid membrane in chloroplasts continuously adapts to changing conditions. Here, we set out to discover the most important changes...

Tocopherol, a compound with vitamin E (VTE) activity, is a conserved constituent of the plastidial antioxidant network in photosynthetic organisms. The synthesis of tocopherol involves the condensation of an aromatic head group with an isoprenoid prenyl side chain. The latter, phytyl diphosphate, can be derived from chlorophyll phytol tail recyclin...

Tocopherol (vitamin E) and phylloquinone (vitamin K1) are lipid-soluble antioxidants that can only be synthesized by photosynthetic organisms. These compounds function primarily at the thylakoid membrane but are also present in chloroplast lipid droplets, also known as plastoglobules (PG). Depending on environmental conditions and stage of plant de...

Photosynthesis is the key bioenergetic process taking place in the chloroplast. The components of the photosynthetic machinery are embedded in a highly dynamic matrix, the thylakoid membrane. This membrane has the capacity to adapt during developmental transitions and under stress conditions. The galactolipids are the major polar lipid components o...

We report on the characterization of Tic56, a unique component of the recently identified 1-MDa TIC translocon comprising Tic20, Tic100 and Tic214. We isolated Tic56 by co-purification with TAP-tagged Toc159 in the absence of precursor protein indicating spontaneous and translocation-independent formation of TOC-TIC supercomplexes. Tic56 mutant pla...

Most chloroplast proteins are encoded as preproteins by the nuclear genome. Their import into chloroplasts occurs post-translationally. An N-terminal pre-sequence, the transit peptide, contains the organellar targeting information. It is specifically recognized by receptor components at the chloroplast surface. These receptors are components of the...

Plants have evolved complex and sophisticated molecular mechanisms to regulate their development and adapt to their surrounding environment. Particularly the development of their specific organelles, chloroplasts and other plastid-types, is finely tuned in accordance with the metabolic needs of the cell. The normal development and functioning of pl...

Plants are exposed to ever changing light environments and continuously forced to adapt. Excessive light intensity leads to the production of reactive oxygen species that can have deleterious effects on photosystems and thylakoid membranes. To limit damage, plants increase the production of membrane soluble antioxidants such as tocopherols. Here, u...

Prenylquinones are indispensable molecules in plants and animals. In plants, phylloquinone (vitamin K) and plastoquinone are electron carriers during photosynthesis in chloroplasts, whereas tocopherol (vitamin E) functions as a lipid antioxidant. The biosynthetic pathways of the prenylquinones have been largely characterized but the mechanisms regu...

Arabidopsis proton gradient regulation (pgr) mutants have high chlorophyll fluorescence and reduced non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) due to defects in photosynthetic electron transport. Here, we identify PGR6 as the chloroplast lipid droplet (plastoglobule; PG) kinase ABC1K1 (Activity of bc1 complex kinase 1). The members of the ABC1/ADCK/UbiB fam...

In bacteria and mitochondria, ABC1-like kinases regulate ubiquinone synthesis, mutations causing severe respiration defects, including neurological disorders in humans. Little is known about plant ABC1-like kinases: in Arabidopsis thaliana five are predicted in mitochondria, but surprisingly six are located at lipid droplets in chloroplasts. These...

Plastoglobules are lipid droplets present in all plastid types. In chloroplasts, they are connected to the thylakoid membrane by the outer lipid half-bilayer. The plastoglobule core is composed of neutral lipids most prominently the prenylquinones, triacylglycerols, fatty acid phytyl esters but likely also unknown compounds. During stress and vario...

Identification of a membrane-anchored E3 ligase in plants reveals a role for the ubiquitin proteasome system in chloroplast development.

Plastoglobules (PG) are lipid droplets in chloroplasts and other plastid types having important functions in lipid metabolism. Plastoglobulins (PGL) also known as fibrillins (FBN) are evolutionary conserved proteins present at the PG surface but also to various extents at the thylakoid membrane. PGLs are thought to have structural functions in PG f...

During stress or senescence, thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts are disintegrated, and chlorophyll and galactolipid are broken down, resulting in the accumulation of toxic intermediates, i.e., tetrapyrroles, free phytol, and free fatty acids. Chlorophyll degradation has been studied in detail, but the catabolic pathways for phytol and fatty acids...

During leaf senescence, plants degrade chlorophyll to colorless linear tetrapyrroles that are stored in the vacuole of senescing cells. The early steps of chlorophyll breakdown occur in plastids. To date, five chlorophyll catabolic enzymes (CCEs), NONYELLOW COLORING1 (NYC1), NYC1-LIKE, pheophytinase, pheophorbide a oxygenase (PAO), and red chloroph...

Lipid droplets called plastoglobules (PGs) exist in most plant tissues and plastid types. In chloroplasts, the polar lipid monolayer surrounding these low-density lipoprotein particles is continuous with the outer lipid leaflet of the thylakoid membrane. Often small clusters of two or three PGs, only one of them directly connected to thylakoids, ar...

Import of nuclear-encoded precursor proteins from the cytosol is an essential step in chloroplast biogenesis that is mediated by protein translocon complexes at the inner and outer envelope membrane (TOC). Toc159 is thought to be the main receptor for photosynthetic proteins, but lacking a large-scale systems approach, this hypothesis has only been...

Lipid droplets are ubiquitous cellular structures in eukaryotes and are required for lipid metabolism. Little is currently known about plant lipid droplets other than oil bodies. Here, we define dual roles for chloroplast lipid droplets (plastoglobules) in energy and prenylquinone metabolism. The prenylquinones--plastoquinone, plastochromanol-8, ph...

Since its first description in 1998 (Rigaut et al., Nat Biotech 17:1030-1032, 1999), the TAP method, for Tandem Affinity Purification, has become one of the most popular methods for the purification of in vivo protein complexes and the identification of their composition by subsequent mass spectrometry analysis. The TAP method is based on the use o...

Prenylquinones are key compounds of the thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts. To understand the mechanisms involved in the response of plants to changing conditions such as high light intensity, the comprehensive analysis of these apolar lipids is an essential but challenging step. Conventional methods are based on liquid chromatography coupled to u...

Successful import of hundreds of nucleus-encoded proteins is essential for chloroplast biogenesis. The import of cytosolic precursor proteins relies on the Toc- (translocon at the outer chloroplast membrane) and Tic- (translocon at the inner chloroplast membrane) complexes. In Arabidopsis thaliana, precursor recognition is mainly mediated by outer...

Two families of GTPases, the Toc34 and Toc159 GTPase families, take on the task of preprotein recognition at the translocon at the outer membrane of chloroplasts (TOC translocon). The major Toc159 family members have highly acidic N-terminal domains (A-domains) that are non-essential and so far have escaped functional characterization. But recently...

The translocon at the outer membrane of the chloroplast assists the import of a large class of preproteins with amino-terminal transit sequences. The preprotein receptors Toc159 and Toc33 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) are specific for the accumulation of abundant photosynthetic proteins. The receptors are homologous GTPases known to be regu...

The atToc33 protein is one of several pre-protein import receptors in the outer envelope of Arabidopsis chloroplasts. It is a GTPase with motifs characteristic of such proteins, and its loss in the plastid protein import 1 (ppi1) mutant interferes with the import of photosynthesis-related pre-proteins, causing a chlorotic phenotype in mutant plants...

Photosynthetic eukaryotes strongly depend on chloroplast metabolic pathways. Most if not all involve nuclear encoded proteins. These are synthesized as cytosolic preproteins with N-terminal, cleavable targeting sequences (transit peptide). Preproteins are imported by a major pathway composed of two proteins complexes: TOC and TIC (Translocon of the...

The ability of plants to adapt to changing light conditions depends on a protein kinase network in the chloroplast that leads to the reversible phosphorylation of key proteins in the photosynthetic membrane. Phosphorylation regulates, in a process called state transition, a profound reorganization of the electron transfer chain and remodeling of th...

Plastoglobules, lipid-protein bodies in the stroma of plant chloroplasts, are enriched in non-polar lipids, in particular prenyl quinols. In the present study we show that, in addition to the thylakoids, plastoglobules also contain a considerable proportion of the plastidial PQ-9 (plastoquinol-9), the redox component of photosystem II, and of the c...

The conditional flu mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana generates singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) in plastids during a dark-to-light shift. Seedlings of flu bleach and die, whereas mature plants stop growing and develop macroscopic necrotic lesions. Several suppressor mutants, dubbed singlet oxygen-linked death activator (soldat), were identified that abrogate...

The biogenesis of chloroplasts is dependent on the coordinate expression of genes encoded in both nuclear and plastid genomes. The chloroplast protein import machinery plays key roles in organelle biogenesis by mediating the import and assembly of thousands of nuclear-encoded proteins into the organelle. It is now apparent that multiple levels of c...

During leaf senescence, chlorophyll is removed from thylakoid membranes and converted in a multistep pathway to colorless breakdown products that are stored in vacuoles. Dephytylation, an early step of this pathway, increases water solubility of the breakdown products. It is widely accepted that chlorophyll is converted into pheophorbide via chloro...

The heterotrimeric Toc core complex of the chloroplast protein import apparatus contains two GTPases, Toc159 and Toc34, together with the protein-conducting channel Toc75. Toc159 and Toc34 are exposed at the chloroplast surface and function in preprotein recognition. Together, they have been shown to facilitate the import of photosynthetic proteins...

Most of the estimated 1000 or so chloroplast proteins are synthesized as cytosolic preproteins with N-terminal cleavable targeting sequences (transit peptide). Translocon complexes at the outer (Toc) and inner chloroplast envelope membrane (Tic) concertedly facilitate post-translational import of preproteins into the chloroplast. Three components,...