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Kessler, Félix

Nom
Kessler, Félix
Affiliation principale
Fonction
Professeur.e ordinaire
Email
felix.kessler@unine.ch
Identifiants
https://libra.unine.ch/handle/123456789/320
_
0000-0001-6409-5043

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  • Publication
    Accès libre
    A Toc159 Import Receptor Mutant, Defective in Hydrolysis of GTP, Supports Preprotein Import into Chloroplasts
    (2009)
    Agne, Birgit
    ;
    Infanger, Sibylle
    ;
    Wang, Fei
    ;
    Hofstetter, Valère
    ;
    Rahim, Gwendoline
    ;
    Martin, Meryll
    ;
    Lee, Dong Wook
    ;
    Hwang, Inhwan
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    ;
    Kessler, Félix 
    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 into chloroplasts in Arabidopsis. Consequently, the ppi2 mutant lacking at Toc159 has a non-photosynthetic albino phenotype. Previous mutations in the conserved G1 and G3 GTPase motifs abolished the function of Toc159 in vivo by disrupting targeting of the receptor to chloroplasts. Here, we demonstrate that a mutant in a conserved G1 lysine (atToc159 K868R) defective in GTP binding and hydrolysis can target and assemble into Toc complexes. We show that atToc159 K868R can support protein import into isolated chloroplasts, albeit at lower preprotein binding and import efficiencies compared with the wild-type receptor. Considering the absence of measurable GTPase activity in the K868R mutant, we conclude that GTP hydrolysis at atToc159 is not strictly required for preprotein translocation. The data also indicate that preprotein import requires at least one additional GTPase other than Toc159.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    The function and diversity of plastid protein import pathways: A multilane GTPase highway into plastids
    (2006)
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    The photosynthetic chloroplast is the hallmark organelle of green plants. During the endosymbiotic evolution of chloroplasts, the vast majority of genes from the original cyanobacterial endosymbiont were transferred to the host cell nucleus. Chloroplast biogenesis therefore requires the import of nucleus-encoded proteins from their site of synthesis in the cytosol. The majority of proteins are imported by the activity of Toc and Tic complexes located within the chloroplast envelope. In addition to chloroplasts, plants have evolved additional, non-photosynthetic plastid types that are essential components of all cells. Recent studies indicate that the biogenesis of various plastid types relies on distinct but homologous Toc-Tic import pathways that have specialized in the import of specific classes of substrates. These different import pathways appear to be necessary to balance the essential physiological role of plastids in cellular metabolism with the demands of cellular differentiation and plant development.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    Chloroplast protein import: solve the GTPase riddle for entry
    (2004)
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    The fidelity of the numerous intracellular protein-trafficking pathways to different organelles is dictated by the interactions between the intrinsic targeting signals of substrate proteins and specific receptors that deliver the substrate to the proper organelle. Recent studies of protein targeting to chloroplasts suggest a novel mechanism in which GTP-dependent substrate recognition is coupled to a GTP-driven motor that initiates the translocation of proteins into the organelle.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    AtTic110 functions as a scaffold for coordinating the stromal events of protein import into chloroplasts
    (2003)
    Inaba, Takehito
    ;
    Li, Ming
    ;
    Alvarez-Huerta, Mayte
    ;
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    The translocon of the inner envelope membrane of chloroplasts ( Tic) mediates the late events in the translocation of nucleus-encoded preproteins into chloroplasts. Tic110 is a major integral membrane component of active Tic complexes and has been proposed to function as a docking site for translocation-associated stromal factors and as a component of the protein-conducting channel. To investigate the various proposed functions of Tic110, we have investigated the structure, topology, and activities of a 97.5-kDa fragment of Arabidopsis Tic110 ( atTic110) lacking only the amino-terminal transmembrane segments. The protein was expressed both in Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis as a stable, soluble protein with a high alpha-helical content. Binding studies demonstrate that a region of the at-Tic110-soluble domain selectively associates with chloroplast preproteins at the late stages of membrane translocation. These data support the hypothesis that the bulk of Tic110 extends into the chloroplast stroma and suggest that the domain forms a docking site for preproteins as they emerge from the Tic translocon.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    A GTPase gate for protein import into chloroplasts
    (2002)
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    Protein import into chloroplasts is regulated by the binding and hydrolysis of GTP at two homologous GTPases, Toc34 and Toc159. The crystal structure of the Toc34 GTP-binding domain suggests that GTP-regulated dimerization of the Toc GTPase domains controls the targeting and translocation of preproteins at the chloroplast envelope.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    The targeting of the atToc159 preprotein receptor to the chloroplast outer membrane is mediated by its GTPase domain and is regulated by GTP
    (2002)
    Smith, Matthew
    ;
    Hiltbrunner, Andreas
    ;
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    The multimeric translocon at the outer envelope membrane of chloroplasts (Toc) initiates the recognition and import of nuclear-encoded preproteins into chloroplasts. Two Toc GTPases, Toc159 and Toc33/34, mediate preprotein recognition and regulate preprotein translocation. Although these two proteins account for the requirement of GTP hydrolysis for import, the functional significance of GTP binding and hydrolysis by either GTPase has not been defined. A recent study indicates that Toc159 is equally distributed between a soluble cytoplasmic form and a membrane-inserted form, raising the possibility that it might cycle between the cytoplasm and chloroplast as a soluble preprotein receptor. In the present study, we examined the mechanism of targeting and insertion of the Arabidopsis thaliana orthologue of Toc159, atToc159, to chloroplasts. Targeting of atToc159 to the outer envelope membrane is strictly dependent only on guanine nucleotides. Although GTP is not required for initial binding, the productive insertion and assembly of atToc159 into the Toc complex requires its intrinsic GTPase activity. Targeting is mediated by direct binding between the GTPase domain of atToc159 and the homologous GTPase domain of atToc33, the Arabidopsis Toc33/34 orthologue. Our findings demonstrate a role for the coordinate action of the Toc GTPases in assembly of the functional Toc complex at the chloroplast outer envelope membrane.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    Essential role of the G-domain in targeting of the protein import receptor atToc159 to the chloroplast outer membrane
    (2002)
    Bauer, Jörg
    ;
    Hiltbrunner, Andreas
    ;
    Weibel, Petra 
    ;
    Vidi, Pierre-Alexandre
    ;
    Alvarez-Huerta, Mayte
    ;
    Smith, Matthew
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    ;
    Kessler, Félix 
    Two homologous GTP-binding proteins, atToc33 and atToc159, control access of cytosolic precursor proteins to the chloroplast. atToc33 is a constitutive outer chloroplast membrane protein, whereas the precursor receptor atToc159 also exists in a soluble, cytosolic form. This suggests that atToc159 may be able to switch between a soluble and an integral membrane form. By transient expression of GFP fusion proteins, mutant analysis, and biochemical experimentation, we demonstrate that the GTP-binding domain regulates the targeting of cytosolic atToc159 to the chloroplast and mediates the switch between cytosolic and integral membrane forms. Mutant atToc159, unable to bind GTP, does not reinstate a green phenotype in an albino mutant (ppi2) lacking endogenous atToc159, remaining trapped in the cytosol. Thus, the function of atToc159 in chloroplast biogenesis is dependent on an intrinsic GTP-regulated switch that controls localization of the receptor to the chloroplast envelope.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    The major protein import receptor of plastids is essential for chloroplast biogenesis
    (2000)
    Bauer, Jörg
    ;
    Chen, Kunhua
    ;
    Hiltbunner, Andreas
    ;
    Wehrli, Ernst
    ;
    Eugster, Monika
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    ;
    Kessler, Félix 
    Light triggers the developmental programme in plants that leads to the production of photosynthetically active chloroplasts from non-photosynthetic proplastids1. During this chloroplast biogenesis, the photosynthetic apparatus is rapidly assembled, mostly from nuclear-encoded imported proteins2, 3, 4, which are synthesized in the cytosol as precursors with cleavable amino-terminal targeting sequences called transit sequences. Protein translocon complexes at the outer (Toc complex)5, 6, 7 and inner (Tic complex)6, 8, 9 envelope membranes recognize these transit sequences, leading to the precursors being imported. The Toc complex in the pea consists of three major components, Toc75, Toc34 and Toc159 (formerly termed Toc86)6, 7, 10, 11. Toc159, which is an integral membrane GTPase12, functions as a transit-sequence receptor5, 6, 7, 13. Here we show that Arabidopsis thaliana Toc159 (atToc159) is essential for the biogenesis of chloroplasts. In an Arabidopsis mutant (ppi2) that lacks atToc159, photosynthetic proteins that are normally abundant are transcriptionally repressed, and are found in much smaller amounts in the plastids, although ppi2 does not affect either the expression or the import of less abundant non-photosynthetic plastid proteins. These findings indicate that atToc159 is required for the quantitative import of photosynthetic proteins. Two proteins that are related to atToc159 (atToc120 and atToc132) probably help to maintain basal protein import in ppi2, and so constitute components of alternative, atToc159-independent import pathways.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    Identification of proteins associated with plastoglobules isolated from pea (Pisum sativum L.) chloroplasts
    (1999)
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Schnell, Danny
    ;
    Blobel, Gunter
    Plastoglobules are conspicuous lipid-containing structures in the chloroplast stroma and are thought to serve as lipid reservoirs for thylakoid membranes. Plastoglobules also contain low levels of proteins. We have purified plastoglobules from a pea chloroplast membrane fraction. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of the purified plastoglobules revealed more than a dozen distinct polypeptides that we propose to term plastoglobulins. For one of the proteins, termed plastoglobulin 1 (PG1), we have obtained partial N-terminal and internal protein sequences. The amino acid sequence, deduced from cDNA, encoded a precursor protein of a calculated mass of 38,491 Da which contained a 48-residue-long N-terminal signal sequence. Pre-PG1 obtained by coupled in-vitro transcription/translation was imported into pea chloroplasts, its signal sequence was cleaved and mature PG1 was assembled into plastoglobules. Homology searches of the data bases revealed similarity of PG1 to the plastoglobule-associated protein of Capsicum annuum, the carotenoid-associated protein of Cucumis sativus and to a protein of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp., indicating that PG1 is a novel member of an ancient protein family. Immunoelectron microscopy using PG1-specific antibodies indicated that PG1 is present in multiple copies on the surface of plastoglobules.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    A consensus nomenclature for the protein-import components of the chloroplast envelope
    (1997)
    Schnell, Danny
    ;
    Blobel, Gunter
    ;
    Keegstra, Kenneth
    ;
    Kessler, Félix 
    ;
    Ko, Kenton
    ;
    Soll, Jurgen