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Analysis of xanthophyll cycle carotenoids and chlorophyll fluorescence in light intensity-dependent chlorophyll-deficient mutants of wheat and barley

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Abstract

Three light intensity-dependent Chl b-deficient mutants, two in wheat and one in barley, were analyzed for their xanthophyll cycle carotenoids and Chl fluorescence characteristics under two different growth PFDs (30 versus 600 μmol photons·m−2 s−1 incident light). Mutants grown under low light possessed lower levels of total Chls and carotenoids per unit leaf area compared to wild type plants, but the relative proportions of the two did not vary markedly between strains. In contrast, mutants grown under high light had much lower levels of Chl, leading to markedly greater carotenoid to Chl ratios in the mutants when compared to wild type. Under low light conditions the carotenoids of the xanthophyll cycle comprised approximately 15% of the total carotenoids in all strains; under high light the xanthophyll cycle pool increased to over 30% of the total carotenoids in wild type plants and to over 50% of the total carotenoids in the three mutant strains. Whereas the xanthophyll cycle remained fairly epoxidized in all plants grown under low light, plants grown under high light exhibited a considerable degree of conversion of the xanthophyll cycle into antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin during the diurnal cycle, with almost complete conversion (over 90%) occurring only in the mutants. 50 to 95% of the xanthophyll cycle was retained as antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin overnight in these mutants which also exhibited sustained depressions in PS II photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), which may have resulted from a sustained high level of photoprotective energy dissipation activity. The relatively larger xanthophyll cycle pool in the Chl b-deficient mutant could result in part from the reported concentration of the xanthophyll cycle in the inner antenna complexes, given that the Chl b-deficient mutants are deficient in the peripheral LHC-II complexes.

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Abbreviations

A:

antheraxanthin

Chl:

chlorophyll

Fo and Fm :

minimal yield (at open PS II reaction centers) and maximal yield (at closed centers) of chlorophyll fluorescence in darkness

F:

level of fluorescence during illumination with photosynthetically active radiation

Fm′ :

maximal yield (at closed centers) of chlorophyll fluorescence during illumination with photosynthetically active radiation

(Fm′−F)/Fm′ :

actual efficiency of PS II during illumination with photosynthetically active radiation

Fv/Fm+(Fm−Fo)/Fm :

intrinsic efficiency of PS II in darkness

LHC_II:

light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complex of Photosystem II

PFD:

photon flux density (between 400 and 700 nm)

PS I:

Photosystem I

PS II:

Photosystem II

V:

violaxanthin

Z:

zeaxanthin

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Author notes

  1. Tanya G. Falbel

    Present address: Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, 80309, Boulder, CO, USA

    Tanya G. Falbel & L. Andrew Staehelin

  2. Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, University of Colorado, 80309, Boulder, CO, USA

    William W. Adams III

Authors
  1. Tanya G. Falbel
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  2. L. Andrew Staehelin
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  3. William W. Adams III
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Falbel, T.G., Staehelin, L.A. & Adams, W.W. Analysis of xanthophyll cycle carotenoids and chlorophyll fluorescence in light intensity-dependent chlorophyll-deficient mutants of wheat and barley. Photosynth Res 42, 191–202 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018262

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018262

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