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. 1997 Nov;115(3):1175–1184. doi: 10.1104/pp.115.3.1175

Changes in the composition of the photosynthetic apparatus in the galactolipid-deficient dgd1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana.

H Härtel 1, H Lokstein 1, P Dörmann 1, B Grimm 1, C Benning 1
PMCID: PMC158582  PMID: 9390443

Abstract

The glycerolipid digalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG) is exclusively associated with photosynthetic membranes and thus may play a role in the proper assembly and maintenance of the photosynthetic apparatus. Here we employ a genetic approach based on the dgd1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate the function of DGDG in thylakoid membranes. The primary defect in the genetically well-characterized dgd1 mutant resulted in a 90% reduction of the DGDG content. The mutant showed a decreased photosystem II (PSII) to photosystem I ratio. In vivo room- and low-temperature (77 K) chlorophyll fluorescence measurements with thylakoid preparations are in agreement with a drastically altered excitation energy allocation to the reaction centers. Quantification of pigment-binding apoproteins and pigments supports an altered stoichiometry of individual pigment-protein complexes in the mutant. Most strikingly, an increase in the amount of peripheral light-harvesting complexes of PSII relative to the inner antenna complexes and the PSII reaction center/core complexes was observed. Regardless of the severe alterations in thylakoid organization, photosynthetic oxygen evolution was virtually not compromised in dgd1 mutant leaves.

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Selected References

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