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Recent overview of the Mg branch of the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis leading to chlorophylls

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Abstract

In plants, chlorophylls (chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b) are the most abundant tetrapyrrole molecules and are essential for photosynthesis. The first committed step of chlorophyll biosynthesis is the insertion of Mg2+ into protoporphyrin IX, and thus subsequent steps of the biosynthesis are called the Mg branch. As the Mg branch in higher plants is complex, it was not until the last decade—after many years of intensive research—that most of the genes encoding the enzymes for the pathway were identified. Biochemical and molecular genetic analyses have certainly modified the classic metabolic map of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis, and only recently have the molecular mechanisms of regulatory pathways governing chlorophyll metabolism been elucidated. As a result, novel functions of tetrapyrroles and biosynthetic enzymes have been proposed. In this review, I summarize the recent findings on enzymes involved in the Mg branch, mainly in higher plants.

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Abbreviations

AAA:

ATPase associated with various cellular activities

ALA:

5-aminolevulinic acid

Bchl:

Bacteriochlorophyll

CAO:

Chlorophyllide a oxygenase

Chl:

Chlorophyll

DVR:

3,8-Divinyl Pchlide a 8-vinyl reductase

DPOR:

Light-independent protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

gun :

Genome uncoupled

LHC:

Light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex

LHCII:

Light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex of photosystem II

LHPP:

Light-harvesting protochlorophyllide a/b-binding protein complex

Pchlide:

Protochlorophyllide

PLB:

Prolamellar body

POR:

Light-dependent NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase

Ptc:

Protochlorophyllide translocon complex

SAM:

S-adenosyl-l-methionine

ZnPP:

Zinc-protopheophorbide

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Dr. Ryouichi Tanaka for critical reading of the manuscript. I acknowledge the financial support from a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (18570034) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

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  1. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

    Tatsuru Masuda

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  1. Tatsuru Masuda
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Correspondence to Tatsuru Masuda.

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Masuda, T. Recent overview of the Mg branch of the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis leading to chlorophylls. Photosynth Res 96, 121–143 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-008-9291-4

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