ISSN:
1617-4623
Keywords:
Carotenoid-deficient mutants
;
Herbicide bleaching
;
Plastid differentiation
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Summary Mutations or herbicides which inhibit the accumulation of carotenoid pigments in higher plants also result in the arrest of chloroplast development at a very early stage. The cause is extensive photooxidative damage within the chloroplast in the absence of protective carotenoids. Because the extent of photooxidation is dependent upon light intensity, normal chloroplast development can occur when carotenoid-deficient seedlings are grown in very dim light. Normal accumulation of chloroplastic and cytosolic mRNAs encoding chloroplast proteins proceeds only under permissive dim light conditions. Illumination with higher intensity light causes rapid chlorophyll photooxidation and the loss of two cytosolic mRNAs coding for proteins destined for the chloroplast, but does not affect another light-regulated cytosolic mRNA encoding a cytosolic protein. This experimental system may have uncovered a mechanism which coordinates the expression of genes in different cellular compartments.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00330458
