PubMed · 2026-02-19
Scientists discovered how a protein called FtsZ3 controls the process of chloroplasts splitting in two inside plant cells. This work, done in mosses using CRISPR gene editing, reveals an ancient mechanism that helps plants maintain healthy, functioning chloroplasts — the solar-panel organelles that power all plant life.
FtsZ3 protein has two distinct functional zones: one domain controls self-assembly and keeps a related protein (FtsZ2) in check, while a separate tail region physically connects to the inner chloroplast membrane to trigger the final pinching step.
CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of FtsZ3 in the moss Physcomitrium patens disrupted chloroplast division, confirming FtsZ3 is essential for constriction of the chloroplast envelope membrane.
FtsZ3 is found only in a specific branch of plants — streptophyte algae, hornworts, mosses, and lycophytes — suggesting it represents an evolutionary adaptation of the division machinery that emerged early in land-plant evolution.
