TARGETING OF PROTEINS INTO CHLOROPLASTS

Most chloroplastic proteins are synthesized in the cytoplasm and are transported to their proper location as a posttranslational event. In the present paper we briefly review some aspects of this transport process. Because chloroplasts contain six different locations, one interesting aspect of protein targeting into chloroplasts that we consider is how precursor proteins are targeted to these various locations. One step shared by many proteins is transport across the envelope membranes. Although this process has been well studied, the components of the apparatus that mediate this transport step are mostly unidentified. Strategies to identify components of this transport apparatus are considered,