The chloroplastic GrpE homolog of Chlamydomonas: two isoforms generated by differential splicing.

In eubacteria and mitochondria, Hsp70 chaperone activity is controlled by the nucleotide exchange factor GrpE. We have identified the chloroplastic GrpE homolog of Chlamydomonas, CGE1, as an approximately 26-kD protein coimmunoprecipitating with the stromal HSP70B protein. When expressed in Escherichia coli, CGE1 can functionally replace GrpE and interacts physically with DnaK. CGE1 is encoded by a single-copy gene that is induced strongly by heat shock and slightly by light. Alternative splicing generates two isoforms that differ only by two residues in the N-terminal part. The larger form is synthesized preferentially during heat shock, whereas the smaller one dominates at lower temperatures. Fractions of both HSP70B and CGE1 associate with chloroplast membranes in an ATP-sensitive manner. By colorless native PAGE and pulse labeling, CGE1 monomers were found to assemble rapidly into dimers and tetramers. In addition, CGE1 was found to form ATP-sensitive complexes with HSP70B of approximately 230 and approximately 120 kD, the latter increasing dramatically after heat shock.