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Molecular Biology and Gene Regulation

Chromoplast-Specific Proteins in Capsicum annuum¹

Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855-0759

Chromoplasts are a common differentiation state of plastids in which the photosynthetic apparatus is absent and carotenoids accumulate to high levels. As a first step toward the isolation of chromoplast-specific genes, we have examined plastids of the bell pepper, Capsicum annuum L., for the presence of chromoplast-specific proteins. Intact chromoplasts were isolated from mature fruits of C. annuum var Emerald Giant, Golden Cal Wonder, and DNAP VS-12 by differential centrifugation followed by isopycnic sedimentation in gradients of silica sols. The plastids were then fractionated into soluble and membrane components and the proteins analyzed by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis using isoelectric focusing, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea gels. Two polypeptides with M_r of 35,000 and 58,000 accumulate to high levels in membrane fractions of chromoplasts of var Emerald Giant. These polypeptides are either not detectable or barely detectable in chloroplasts from immature fruits. Both polypeptides have been purified to near homogeneity. Yellow chromoplasts from var Golden Cal Wonder and red chromoplasts from var DNAP VS-12 contained the 35-kilodalton polypeptide, but not the 58-kilodalton species.

¹ This work was supported by grants from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, the DNA Plant Technology Corporation, and the Charles and Johanna Busch Memorial Fund. New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Publication No. D-01117-02-87, supported by State funds and by the United States Hatch Act. NH received fellowship support from the government of Algeria. IG was a postdoctoral fellow of the Charles and Johanna Busch Memorial Fund.

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