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When chloroplasts are damaged by reactive oxygen species, they can be degraded to protect cells or to redistribute nutrients, but these pathways remain poorly understood. In this issue, Fisher et al. (pp. 248-264) have demonstrated that the reactive oxygen species singlet oxygen can trigger chloroplast swelling, changes in the internal structures of chloroplasts, and chloroplast interactions with the central vacuole prior to degradation. Such structural changes may be a mechanism by which a cell can target damaged or senescing chloroplasts for turnover.
The cover image shows a chloroplast in a three-day-old Arabidopsis mesophyll cell. This particular chloroplast has suffered photo-oxidative damage and is being targeted for degradation. Such a mechanism may involve the observed chloroplast protrusion or “blebbing” into the central vacuole (image is supplied by Dr. Jesse Woodson of the University of Arizona, USA).
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