XVI International Botanical Congess

Chloroplast DNA is associated with proteins into nucleoids that undergo structural rearrangements during development from proplastids to chloroplasts. It is believed that the remodeling of nucleoid structure plays a crucial role in determining the changing functions of the plastome as a template for replication, transcription and recombination which, in turn, undoubtedly affect the function of the entire plant cell. In an effort to understand the role plastid nucleoid proteins play in determining nucleoid structure and its effect on gene expression and development of the organelle, we have purified several nucleoid proteins. We are currently studying their interaction with DNA and with other nucleoid proteins. One plastid nucleoid protein (DCP68) can compact DNA into a form that does not support DNA replication in vitro.