Making the connections - The crucial role of metabolite transporters at the interface between chloroplast and cytosol

Eukaryotic cells are most fascinating because of their high degree of compartmentation. This is particularly true for plant cells, due to the presence of chloroplasts, photosynthetic organelles of endosymbiotic origin that can be traced back to a single cyanobacterial ancestor. Plastids are major hubs in the metabolic network of plant cells, their metabolism being heavily intertwined with that of the cytosol and of other organelles. Solute transport across the plastid envelope by metabolite transporters is key to integrating plastid metabolism with that of other cellular compartments. Here, we review the advances in understanding metabolite transport across the plastid envelope membrane. (c) 2007 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.