NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase uses the general import route into chloroplasts

Chloroplast differentiation in angiosperm plants depends on the light-dependent conversion of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide by NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (PORA; EC 1.6.99.1), a nuclearly encoded protein. The protein import of the precursor form of PORA into plastids was shown previously to strictly depend on the presence of its substrate protochlorophyllide. PORA seemed to follow a novel, posttranslationally regulated import route. Here we demonstrate that the precursor of PORA from barley is imported into isolated barley plastids independently of protochlorophyllide. PORA as well as PORE import is competed for by the precursor of the small subunit of Rubisco. The data demonstrate that the PORA precursor uses the general import pathway into plastids. Furthermore, en route into chloroplasts the pea FOR precursor can be crosslinked to the protein import channel in the outer envelope Toc75 from pea.