REGULATION OF CHLOROPLAST GENE-EXPRESSION

Plastid gene expression during plant growth and development requires several independent processes. Although the plastid contains all the basic components for gene expression, it must rely on the import of nuclear-encoded proteins to carry out plastid biogenesis and photosynthesis. By understanding the individual roles of transcription, mRNA processing, mRNA stability, and mRNA translation in plastids, and how they depend on the nuclear genome, general trends can be identified in the complex mechanisms of chloroplast gene expression.