Plastids are essential organelles of prokaryotic origin present in nearly every plant cell containing an estimated 3000-4000 different proteins. Chloroplasts are the best known green plastids and carry out photosynthesis and also synthesize various primary and secondary metabolites. The van Wijk ...
Plastids are essential organelles of prokaryotic origin present in nearly every plant cell containing an estimated 3000-4000 different proteins. Chloroplasts are the best known green plastids and carry out photosynthesis and also synthesize various primary and secondary metabolites. The van Wijk lab is focused on i) bundle sheath and mesophyll cell specific differentiation of chloroplasts in leaves of the C4 plant maize, and ii) in chloroplast biogenesis and protein homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana, with a particular focus on the Clp protease machinery. We use a multi-disciplinary approach, with emphasis on large scale comparative proteomics and mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and reverse genetics. Protein identifications with associated information are uploaded into the Plant Proteome Data Base (http://ppdb.tc.cornell.edu/), building a foundation for systems biology of the Arabidopsis and maize proteomes. Our proteomics and mass spectrometry infrastructure and expertise are also used in collaborations with colleagues at Cornell University and elsewhere.