Kamata (Fujimura) Kogane and Professor Jun Minagawa of the National Institute for Basic Biology have demonstrated that the protein factor DET1, which controls the NPQ response that protects plants’ photosynthetic apparatus from excessive light stress, is also involved in the silencing of DNA transposons, which are “mobile genes” within the genome. Mutant strains of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii lacking the DET1 gene initially exhibit extremely slow growth under low light conditions, but subsequently experience a dramatic improvement in growth. This recovery is caused by the spontaneous insertion of the DNA transposon Bill into the transcription factor encoding the photoprotective gene LHCSR, thereby disabling the NPQ response. This discovery suggests the existence of a previously unknown molecular mechanism in which DET1 coordinately controls short-term environmental responses via LHCSR and long-term genomic adaptability via transposon activation in green algae cells. This result provides a new perspective on the fundamental question of how organisms have adapted and evolved to environmental changes and fluctuations.

【Press release (in Japanese)】https://www.nibb.ac.jp/press/2025/08/20.html
【Journal】New Phytologist　
【Title】From Photoprotection to Plasticity: Transposon Activation in the Chlamydomonas det1 Mutant
【Authors】Konomi Fujimura-Kamada and Jun Minagawa
【DOI】10.1111/nph.70436
【URL】https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70436