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Acclimation of barley to changes in light intensity: chlorophyll organization

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Abstract

Barley seedlings (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Boone) were grown at 20°C with a 16h/8h light/dark cycle of either high (H) intensity (550 μmole m-2 s-1) or low (L) intensity (55 μmole m-2 s-1) white light. Plants were transferred from high to low (H → L) or low to high (L → H) light intensity at various times from 4 to 8 d after leaf emergence from the soil. Primary leaves were harvested at the beginning of the photoperiod and a 3 cm apical segment removed for analysis. H control plants had greater chlorophyll (Chl) per leaf area and higher Chl a/b ratios than L controls. Analysis of Chl-protein complexes revealed that H and L plants had the same percentage of total Chl (62–65%) associated with Photosystem II (PS II), but that the organization of Chl within PS II was different. H plants contained lower levels of light-harvesting complex (LHC-II) and higher levels of the PS II complex CPa compared with L plants. Leaf Chl content and Chl organization within PS II were sensitive to changes in light intensity. In H → L plants, leaf Chl content decreased, Chl a/b ratio decreased, and a redistribution of Chl from CPa to LHC-II occurred during acclimation to low light. Acclimation of L → H plants to high light involved an increase in leaf Chl content, an increase in Chl a/b ratio, and a decrease in LHC-II. In contrast, the level of photosystem I related Chl-protein complexes (CP1 + CP1a) was similar in all light treatments. The light acclimation process occurred slowly over a period of 6 to 8 d in H → L and L → H plants.

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Abbreviations

DMF:

dimethylformamide

H:

control plants grown under high light intensity

H → L:

plants transferred from high to low light intensity

L:

control plants grown under low light intensity

L → H:

plants transferred from low to high light intensity

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 27695-7631, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Winston Raul De la Torre & Kent Oliver Burkey

  2. Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, 27695-7631, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Winston Raul De la Torre & Kent Oliver Burkey

  3. Department of Botany, North Carolina State University, 27695-7631, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Winston Raul De la Torre & Kent Oliver Burkey

Authors
  1. Winston Raul De la Torre
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  2. Kent Oliver Burkey
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Additional information

Cooperative investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC. Paper No. 11989 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC 27695-7643, USA.

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De la Torre, W.R., Burkey, K.O. Acclimation of barley to changes in light intensity: chlorophyll organization. Photosynth Res 24, 117–125 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00032592

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00032592

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