Abstract
A collection of chlorophyll (Chl)-deficient mutants of sweetclover (Melilotus alba) with defects in eight nuclear loci were grown at 17 or 26° C. Plants grown at either temperature were examined for Chl content, Chl a/b ratio, expression of the light-harvesting complex II (LHC-II) apoproteins, and protochlorophyllide (Pchlide) biosynthetic capacity. Except for the ch4 mutant, the parental strain and all mutants accumulate more Chl when grown at 26° C than at 17° C. The ch5 mutants, lacking Chl b under any growth condition, and the ch12 mutant showed little temperature-dependent phenotypic plasticity, whereas this was a marked phenomenon in the other mutants. The ch10 and ch11 mutants demonstrated extreme temperature sensitivity with regard to the production of Chl b and the Chl b-binding LHC-II apoproteins. When excised trifoliolates were supplemented with exogenously supplied δ-aminolevulinic acid, only the ch4 mutant was markedly impaired in the ability to produce Pchlide. These data indicate that temperature-sensitive phenotypic plasticity is a common phenomenon of chlorophyll-deficient mutants and substantiate that only a minority of Chl-deficient mutants is impaired in the biosynthesis of Chl.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 31-40 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Biochemical Genetics |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1990 |
Keywords
- Melilotus alba
- chlorophyll deficiency
- light-harvesting complex
- sweet-clover
- temperature sensitive
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics