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Is light quality involved in the regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus in attached rice leaves?

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Abstract

The regulatory effect of light quality on the photosynthetic apparatus in attached leaves of rice plants was investigated by keeping rice plants under natural light, in complete darkness, or under illumination with light of different colors. When leaves were left in darkness and far-red (FR)-light conditions for 6 days at 30°C, there was an initial lag in chlorophyll (Chl) content, Chl a/b ratio, and maximum photosystem (PS) II photochemistry that lasted until the second day; these then rapidly decreased on the fourth day. In contrast, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) rapidly disappeared with no lag under low or zero light conditions. By using spectrophotometric quantitation, it was determined that the PSII and PSI reaction centers were regulated by light quality, but cytochrome (Cyt) f was regulated by light intensity. However, the PSII heterogeneity was also strongly modified by the light intensity; PSIIα with the large antenna decreased markedly both in content and in antenna size. Consequently, the PSIIα/PSI ratio declined under FR-light because the low intensity of FR-light dominated over its quality in the modulation of the PSIIα/PSI ratio. An imbalance between them induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), although the ROS were scavenged by stromal enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR). The activities of these stromal enzymes are also regulated by light quality. Thus, although the photosynthetic apparatus is regulated differently depending on light quality, light quality may play an important role in the regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

C-550:

Electrochromic band shift of pheophytin in the PSII reaction center complex

Chl:

Chlorophyll

Cyt:

Cytochrome

DCMU:

3-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea

Fv/Fm:

Maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII in the dark-adapted leaves

GR:

Glutathione reductase

GSH and GSSG:

Reduced and oxidized glutathione, respectively

PS:

Photosystem

QA :

Primary quinone acceptor in PSII

QB :

Secondary quinone acceptor in PSII

R- and FR-light:

Red and far-red light, respectively

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

Rubisco:

Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

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Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to my mentors, Professor Yasumaro Kamimura and Professor Emiko Maruta, for their many critical suggestions and for their encouragement throughout this study. I also thank Tomoyuki Nakayama, Junko Sakabe, Tomomi Shinobu, Reina Arakawa, Takeshi Katoh, Sachiko Mizukami, Ryoko Yabe, Mayo Karube, Yuko Shinomiya, Eriko Tsurumi, and my other collaborators for their excellent technical assistance and many suggestions.

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  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan

    Jun-ya Yamazaki

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  1. Jun-ya Yamazaki
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Correspondence to Jun-ya Yamazaki.

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Yamazaki, Jy. Is light quality involved in the regulation of the photosynthetic apparatus in attached rice leaves?. Photosynth Res 105, 63–71 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-010-9567-3

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