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Studies on the expression of NDH-H, a subunit of the NAD(P)H-plastoquinone-oxidoreductase of higher-plant chloroplasts

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Abstract

The plastid genomes of higher plants contain eleven reading frames (ndhA-K) that are homologous to genes encoding subunits of the mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone-oxidoreductase (complex I). The carboxyterminal end of the NDH-H subunit from rice (Oryza sativa L.) was expressed as a fusion protein in Escherichia coli and antibodies against the fusion protein were generated in rabbits. The antibody was used to study the expression of NDH-H, and the following results were obtained: (i) NDH-H is expressed in mono- and dicotyledonous plants, (ii) NDH-H is localized on the stroma lamellae of the thylakoid membrane and (iii) NDH-H is expressed in etioplasts. Together with the finding that two other ndh genes (ndhI and ndhK) are expressed in plastids, these results point to the existence of an NAD(P)H-plastoquinone-oxidoreductase on the thylakoid membrane. The possible function of the enzyme in plastids is discussed and it is suggested that it works in balancing the ATP/ADP and the NADPH/NADP ratios during changing external (i.e. light) or internal (i.e. ATP and NADPH demands of biosynthetic pathways of the plastid) conditions.

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Abbreviations

PVDF:

polyvinylidene difluoride

SDS:

sodium dodecyl sulfate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Entwicklungs- und Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Universitätsstrasse 1, 1, Düsseldorf, FRG

    Susanne Berger, Ulrike Ellersiek, Peter Westhoff & Klaus Steinmüller

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  1. Susanne Berger
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  2. Ulrike Ellersiek
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  3. Peter Westhoff
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  4. Klaus Steinmüller
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Additional information

We thank Professor M. Sugiura for the rice plastid DNA clone bank, Oliver Buchholz for Sorghum plastid membranes, Pioneer Hi-Bred Inc. for maize and Sorghum seeds and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for financial support (SFB189).

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Berger, S., Ellersiek, U., Westhoff, P. et al. Studies on the expression of NDH-H, a subunit of the NAD(P)H-plastoquinone-oxidoreductase of higher-plant chloroplasts. Planta 190, 25–31 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00195671

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