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. 1988 Dec;88(4):1246–1256. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.4.1246

Light-Dependent Accumulation of Radiolabeled Plastid-Encoded Chlorophyll a-Apoproteins Requires Chlorophyll a1

I. Analysis of Chlorophyll-Deficient Mutants and Phytochrome Involvement

Robert R Klein 1, Patricia E Gamble 1, John E Mullet 1
PMCID: PMC1055749  PMID: 16666451

Abstract

The accumulation of radiolabeled plastid-encoded chlorophyll a-apoproteins is light dependent and is controlled at a posttranscriptional level. Illumination of dark-grown barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with a brief pulse of red light induced the accumulation of radiolabeled chlorophyll a-apoproteins in subsequent protein synthesis assays. The induction of radiolabeled chlorophyll a-apoprotein accumulation was not affected by pretreatment of leaves with cycloheximide. Fluence response studies showed that a red light photoreceptor controls the accumulation of radiolabeled chlorophyll a-apoproteins with a threshold fluence of approximately 50 to 100 microeinsteins per square meter. While red light initiated chlorophyll a-apoprotein accumulation, this process was not reversed by a far red light treatment given immediately after the pulse of red light. The light pulse which initiated the accumulation of radiolabeled chlorophyll a-apoproteins also induced the rapid conversion of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyll a. A chlorophyll-deficient mutant, xan-f10, which is blocked in chlorophyll biosynthesis prior to protochlorophyllide formation, failed to accumulate radiolabeled chlorophyll a-apoproteins in the light even though transcripts for these apoproteins were present. A second mutant, xan-j64, which accumulates chlorophyllide in the light but only low levels of chlorophyll a, also showed reduced accumulation of radiolabeled chlorophyll a-apoproteins upon illumination. These results suggest that the light-induced conversion of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyll a is necessary for accumulation of the plastid-encoded chlorophyll a-apoproteins and one red light photoreceptor controlling this response is the protochlorophyllide holochrome.

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Selected References

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