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RNA Biology Team

Head: Piotr Gawroński

Members: Dr. Sylwia Kacprzak, M.Sc. Kinga Gołębiewska, Andrzej Rzepko, Magdalena Zabielska, Jakub Figurski

Alumni: Martyna Adach, Bartosz Biernacik, Zofia Czeremużyńska, Paulina Dwojak, Agnieszka Grabiec, Grzegorz Hycnar, Abraham de Jonge, Konrad Łosiński, Katarzyna Maleta, Agata Michalak, Lidia Muszyńska, Maciej Najechalski, Aleksandra Pałac, Rafał Piwnicki, Natalia Warchałowska, Krzysztof Świąder, Magdalena Tyszkiewicz, Krzysztof Wardak, Kamila Wawrzyniak, Patryk Werner, Julia Zaremba.

Research Focus

Chloroplasts are semi-autonomous organelles that have retained their own, highly reduced genome and a bacterial-type translational apparatus (e.g. 70S ribosomes). However, the expression of chloroplast genes exhibits several unique features, including complex regulation at the levels of translation initiation and elongation.

The main goal of our group is to understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate translation in chloroplasts, which synthesize up to 50% of all proteins present in leaves. In particular, we focus on chloroplast tRNAs and rRNAs — analysing their expression levels, modification patterns, and identifying as well as characterizing novel proteins involved in RNA modification and ribosome biogenesis.

Our research combines a wide range of molecular biology methods, high-throughput sequencing (NGS), and advanced bioinformatics analyses, carried out primarily using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Image showing the response of Arabidopsis thaliana to high light stress.
The lower panel presents chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging.
(Author: K. Gołębiewska)

Three-dimensional structure of a tRNA molecule with highlighted positions of modified nucleotides.
(Author: K. Gołębiewska)

Projects

Ongoing Research Projects

· The role of tRNA expression and modification in chloroplast translation during stress. 2022–2027, Polish National Science Centre (NCN), Sonata-bis 11 (PI: Piotr Gawroński)

· The role of GTPase Era1 in chloroplast ribosome biogenesis and translation. 2025–2027, Polish National Science Centre (NCN), Preludium-23 (PI: Kinga Gołębiewska)

Completed Projects

· Regulation of chloroplast translation elongation by reactive oxygen species, redox status, and proton gradient. 2017–2021, Polish National Science Centre (NCN), Sonata 12 (PI: Piotr Gawroński)

Selected Publications (5)

Gawroński P, Burdiak P, Scharff LB, Mielecki J, Górecka M, Zaborowska M, Leister D, Waszczak C, and Karpiński S. CIA2 and CIA2‐LIKE are required for optimal photosynthesis and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J. 2021a:105(3):619–638. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15058

Gawroński P, Enroth C, Kindgren P, Marquardt S, Karpiński S, Leister D, Jensen P, Vinther J, and Scharff L. Light-Dependent Translation Change of Arabidopsis psbA Correlates with RNA Structure Alterations at the Translation Initiation Region. Cells. 2021b:10(2):322. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020322

Gawroński P, Jensen PE, Karpiński S, Leister D, and Scharff LB. Pausing of Chloroplast Ribosomes Is Induced by Multiple Features and Is Linked to the Assembly of Photosynthetic Complexes. Plant Physiol. 2018:176(3):2557–2569. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.01564

Gawroński P, Pałac A, and Scharff LB. Secondary Structure of Chloroplast mRNAs In Vivo and In Vitro. Plants. 2020:9(3):323. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9030323

Gołębiewska K, Gregorová P, Sarin LP, and Gawroński P. Deciphering the RNA Modification Landscape in Arabidopsis Chloroplast tRNAs and rRNAs Reveals a Blend of Ancestral and Acquired Characteristics. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.14.598963

Silique of an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant. White seeds indicate that the mutation causes embryonic development arrest.
(Author: S. Kacprzak)

Analysis of subcellular localization of a protein fused with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). The image was obtained using confocal microscopy.
(Author: S. Kacprzak)

Results on the recruitment results for the Post-doc position within the project Sonata-Bis 11 (financed by the National Science Center)

Contact: dr hab. Piotr Gawroński