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Loss or retention of chloroplast DNA in maize seedlings is affected by both light and genotype

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Abstract

We examined the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) from plastids obtained from wild type maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings grown under different light conditions and from photosynthetic mutants grown under white light. The cpDNA was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR, quantitative DNA fluorescence, and blot-hybridization following pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The amount of DNA per plastid in light-grown seedlings declines greatly from stalk to leaf blade during proplastid-to-chloroplast development, and this decline is due to cpDNA degradation. In contrast, during proplastid-to-etioplast development in the dark, the cpDNA levels increase from the stalk to the blade. Our results suggest that DNA replication continues in the etioplasts of the upper regions of the stalk and in the leaves. The cpDNA level decreases rapidly, however, after dark-grown seedlings are transferred to light and the etioplasts develop into photosynthetically active chloroplasts. Light, therefore, triggers the degradation of DNA in maize chloroplasts. The cpDNA is retained in the leaf blade of seedlings grown under red, but not blue light. We suggest that light signaling pathways are involved in mediating cpDNA levels, and that red light promotes replication and inhibits degradation and blue light promotes degradation. For five of nine photosynthetic mutants, cpDNA levels in expanded leaves are higher than in wild type, indicating that nuclear genotype can affect the loss or retention of cpDNA.

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Abbreviations

cpDNA :

Chloroplast DNA

DAPI :

4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole

PCR :

Polymerase chain reaction

PFGE :

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

PML :

Photosynthetic Mutant Library

Rfl :

Relative fluorescence intensity

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Acknowledgments

The project was supported in part by the National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, grant number no. 2002-35301-12021 and Public Health Service, National Research Service Award, T32 GM07270, from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. We thank Doug Ewing for assistance with growing plants and Jerry Davison for assistance with flow cytometry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Washington, Box 355325, Seattle, WA, 98195-5325, USA

    Delene J. Oldenburg, Beth A. Rowan, Cristina L. Walcher & Arnold J. Bendich

  2. Xuegongbu, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Lei Zhao

  3. Amgen, 1201 Amgen Court West, Seattle, WA, 98119-3105, USA

    Marc Schleh

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  1. Delene J. Oldenburg
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  2. Beth A. Rowan
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  3. Lei Zhao
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  4. Cristina L. Walcher
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  5. Marc Schleh
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  6. Arnold J. Bendich
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Correspondence to Arnold J. Bendich.

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Oldenburg, D.J., Rowan, B.A., Zhao, L. et al. Loss or retention of chloroplast DNA in maize seedlings is affected by both light and genotype. Planta 225, 41–55 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-006-0329-6

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