Investigating Localization of Chimeric Transporter Proteins within Chloroplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana

In this protocol, we describe a method to design chimeric proteins for specific targeting to the inner envelope membrane (IEM) of chloroplasts and the confirmation of their localization by biochemical analysis. Specific targeting to the chloroplast IEM can be achieved by fusing the protein of interest with a transit peptide and an IEM targeting signal. This protocol makes it possible to investigate the localization of chimeric proteins in chloroplasts using a small number of transgenic plants by using a modified method of chloroplast isolation and fractionation. IEM localization of chimeric proteins can be further assessed by trypsin digestion and alkaline extraction. Here, the localization of the chimeric bicarbonate transporter, designated as SbtAII, is detected by Western blotting using antibodies against protein A. This protocol is adapted from Uehara , 2016 .