Isolation of complete chloroplasts from Chromera Velia — The photosynthetic relative of parasitic apicomplexa

Abstract

The recently discovered photosynthetic alga Chromera velia is closely related to nonphotosynthetic apicomplexan parasites and photosynthetic dinoflagellates. Previous research has revealed features that are shared between the chloroplast of C. velia and the apicoplast in apicomplexan parasites. We have developed a practical method to harvest complete chloroplasts from C. velia to enable characterisation of their metabolic and photosynthetic capacity.