Translation and its regulation in different compartments of the plant cell

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian M. T. Spahn
• Subject Area: Structural Biology ; Biochemistry
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 416210002

While most other eukaryotes have mobility, plants have evolved specialized adaptive mechanisms to respond to a dynamic environment. One of the most fundamental adaptation processes is the rapid regulation of gene expression, which in plants is highly modulated at the level of mRNA translation into protein. Thus far, structural and mechanistic studies of protein biosynthesis have been mainly conducted in the bacterial system, and more recently in lower eukaryotes (yeast) and mammals. By comparison, knowledge about translation in plants is sparse. In the plant cell, protein synthesis takes place in three different compartments: cytosol, chloroplast, and mitochondria. Each of these cell compartments has a specialized translation apparatus with a distinct composition. In order to understand the specificity and diversity of translation in plants, and particularly to provide the structural foundation for specialized translational control mechanisms in different plant cell compartments, this proposal aims to solve the structures of actively translating plant ribosomes derived from cytosol as well as chloroplast in comprehensive functional states using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). In an integrative approach, these structural studies will be complemented by mass spectrometry and ribosome profiling analyses to generate an interdisciplinary view of plant translation regulation mechanisms in physiologic conditions at high-resolution. This is of a high importance, as the modulation of protein production in plants is critical for development, environmental plasticity, and biomass yield in diverse ecosystems and agricultural settings.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants