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. 1975 Oct;56(4):497–501. doi: 10.1104/pp.56.4.497

Control of δ-Aminolevulinic Acid and Chlorophyll Accumulation in Greening Maize Leaves upon Light-Dark Transitions 1

Robert Fluhr a, Eitan Harel a, Shimon Klein a, Erna Meller a
PMCID: PMC541856  PMID: 16659332

Abstract

The accumulation of δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) was studied in greening maize (Zea mays) leaves which were transferred to darkness and reilluminated after various periods of time. The system synthesizing ALA decays in the dark with a half-life of about 80 minutes. The onset of enzyme decay after transfer to darkness shows a 40-minute lag. The accumulation of ALA in the presence of levulinic acid in leaves transferred to darkness corresponds to that expected from the estimated half-life of the enzyme synthesizing ALA. On the other hand, the accumulation of protochlorophyll upon transfer to darkness in the absence of levulinic acid stops much earlier. It is suggested that a control point exists in the pathway between ALA and protochlorophyll, preventing utilization of the accumulated ALA upon transfer of greening leaves to darkness. This is supported by the observed effects of low intensities of monochromatic light (648 nm) on ALA and chlorophyll accumulation.

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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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