近日，中国科学院遗传与发育生物学研究所李家洋团队的论文发现了蛋白凝聚体介导的叶绿体防晒赋予高光耐受性。相关论文于2026年6月17日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《细胞》杂志上。
该团队发现，1O2响应的一个关键介质，亚甲基蓝敏感性1 (MBS1)，从植物到动物都是保守的，它包括一个锌指（ZnF）结构域，两侧是内在无序区域。MBS1在1O2中起着关键作用。通过ZnF的构象变化和从液体状液滴到低动力冷凝物的相变来感知。这些叶绿体相关凝聚物在强光下减弱光的穿透，从而保护叶绿体免受光损伤。在水稻中，过表达MBS1的品系在4年的田间试验中表现出更高的耐强光性和产量。他们的发现揭示了一种通过MBS1凝聚体赋予叶绿体光保护的“遮阳”机制，突出了它在气候变化加剧的强光胁迫下提高水稻产量的价值。
据悉，阳光为生命提供燃料，但也会产生单线态氧（1O2），这会引起光损伤，并在光合作用发生的叶绿体中触发信号传导和抗氧化防御途径。细胞如何感知氧气并立即进行光保护仍然是未知的。
附：英文原文
Title: Chloroplast sunscreening by protein condensates confers high-light tolerance
Author: Ning Shao, Mingjiang Chen, Ning Xu, Yaqiang Qin, Qian Zhao, Ralph Bock, Min Zhou, Guangyou Duan, Jing Yang, Daili Ji, Dongshan Wu, Yu Wang, Yinghong Lu, Xiaoguang Lei, Kai Sun, Keke Liu, Guifu Liu, Xiangbing Meng, Yanhui Jing, Xiuli Fan, Yannan Zhao, Bing Wang, Hong Yu, Cuimin Liu, Yuqiang Jiang, Zheng Zhou, Jiayang Li
Issue&Volume: 2026-06-17
Abstract: Sunlight fuels life but generates singlet oxygen (1O2), which causes photodamage and triggers signaling and antioxidative defense pathways in chloroplasts where photosynthesis takes place. How cells sense 1O2 and instantaneously mount photoprotection remains elusive. Here, we show that a key mediator of 1O2 responses, METHYLENE BLUE SENSITIVITY1 (MBS1), is conserved from plants to animals and comprises a zinc-finger (ZnF) domain flanked by intrinsically disordered regions. MBS1 plays a critical role in 1O sensing through ZnF conformational change and phase transition from liquid-like droplets to lower-dynamic condensates. These chloroplast-associated condensates under high light attenuate light penetration to shield chloroplasts from photodamage. In rice, MBS1-overexpressing lines exhibit enhanced high-light tolerance and yield in 4-year field trials. Our findings uncover a “sunscreening” mechanism via MBS1 condensates that confer chloroplast photoprotection, highlighting its value for improving rice yields in the field under high-light stress exacerbated by climate change.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.05.042
Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(26)00642-2
期刊信息
Cell：《细胞》，创刊于1974年。隶属于细胞出版社，最新IF：66.85
官方网址：https://www.cell.com/
投稿链接：https://www.editorialmanager.com/cell/default.aspx