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. 1987 Feb;83(2):251–253. doi: 10.1104/pp.83.2.251

Membrane Rupture Is the Common Cause of Damage to Chloroplast Membranes in Leaves Injured by Freezing or Excessive Wilting 1

Dirk K Hincha 1, Roswitha Höfner 1, Karin B Schwab 1,2, Ulrich Heber 1, Jürgen M Schmitt 1
PMCID: PMC1056342  PMID: 16665230

Abstract

The effects of freezing and desiccation of spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea L. cv Yates) on the thylakoid membranes were assessed using antibodies specific for thylakoid membrane proteins. The peripheral part of the chloroplast coupling factor ATPase (CF1) was used as a molecular marker for chemical membrane damage by chaotropic solutes. Plastocyanin, a soluble protein localized inside the closed thylakoid membrane system, was a marker for damage by mechanical membrane rupture. After freezing and wilting of leaves which resulted in damage, very little CF1 was detached from the membranes, whereas almost all plastocyanin was released from the thylakoids. It is suggested that in vivo dehydration both by freezing and desiccation results in membrane rupture rather than in the dissociation of peripheral thylakoid membrane proteins.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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