Proteomic analysis of the pyrenoid-traversing membranes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii reveals novel components

Pyrenoids are algal CO ₂ -fixing organelles that mediate approximately one-third of global carbon fixation and hold the potential to enhance crop growth if engineered into land plants. Most pyrenoids are traversed by membranes that are thought to supply them with concentrated CO ₂ . Despite the critical nature of these membranes for pyrenoid function, they are poorly understood, with few protein components known in any species.

Here we identify protein components of the pyrenoid-traversing membranes from the leading model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by affinity purification and mass spectrometry of membrane fragments. Our proteome includes previously-known proteins as well as novel candidates.

We further characterize two of the novel pyrenoid-traversing membrane-resident proteins, Cre10.g452250, which we name Pyrenoid Membrane Enriched 1 (PME1), and LCI16. We confirm their localization, observe that they physically interact, and find that neither protein is required for normal membrane morphology.

Taken together, our study identifies the proteome of pyrenoid-traversing membranes and initiates the characterization of a novel pyrenoid-traversing membrane complex, building toward a mechanistic understanding of the pyrenoid.