Integrative Biology Journals
JIPB

J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 2025, Vol. 67 ›› Issue (4): 887-911.DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13837  cstr: 32098.14.jipb.13837

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Regulatory and retrograde signaling networks in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway

Yuhong Li1†, Tianjun Cao2,3†, Yunling Guo4, Bernhard Grimm5,6,*, Xiaobo Li2,3,*, Deqiang Duanmu4,*, Rongcheng Lin1,7,*   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China;
    2. School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, China;
    3. Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou 310024, China;
    4. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China;
    5. Institute of Biology/Plant Physiology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 10115, Germany;
    6. The Zhongzhou Laboratory for Integrative Biology, State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China;
    7. Institute of Biotechnology, Xianghu Laboratory, Hangzhou 311231, China
  • Received:2024-09-05 Accepted:2024-12-08 Online:2025-01-24 Published:2025-04-01
  • Contact: *Bernhard Grimm (bernhard.grimm@rz.hu-berlin.de); Xiaobo Li (lixiaobo@westlake.edu.cn); Deqiang Duanmu (duanmu@mail.hzau.edu.cn); Rongcheng Lin (linrongcheng@xhlab.ac.cn, Dr. Lin is fully responsible for the distribution of all materials associated with this article)
  • About author:†These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China (2020YFA0907601, 2019YFA0906300, and 2022YFC3401800), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32030009), and the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang (2024SSYS0100 and 2023SDXHDX0002).

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Abstract: Plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria convert light into chemical energy by means of photosynthesis, thus providing food and energy for most organisms on Earth. Photosynthetic pigments, including chlorophylls (Chls) and carotenoids, are essential components that absorb the light energy necessary to drive electron transport in photosynthesis. The biosynthesis of Chl shares several steps in common with the biosynthesis of other tetrapyrroles, including siroheme, heme and phycobilins. Given that many tetrapyrrole precursors possess photo-oxidative properties that are deleterious to macromolecules and can lead to cell death, tetrapyrrole biosynthesis (TBS) requires stringent regulation under various developmental and environmental conditions. Thanks to decades of research on model plants and algae, we now have a deeper understanding of the regulatory mechanisms that underlie Chl synthesis, including (i) the many factors that control the activity and stability of TBS enzymes, (ii) the transcriptional and post-translational regulation of the TBS pathway, and (iii) the complex roles of tetrapyrrole-mediated retrograde signaling from chloroplasts to the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Based on these new findings, Chls and their derivatives will find broad applications in synthetic biology and agriculture in the future.

Key words: chlorophyll biosynthesis, regulation, signaling

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