Summary
A native plant of Lespedeza procumbens with yellow, chlorophyll-deficient leaves was discovered near Tallahassee, Florida. When selfed this plant yielded only yellow offspring. Normal, green plants of L. procumbens contained about 5.5 times more chlorophyll (dry weight basis) than yellow plants. At high light intensities photosynthetic rates on a chlorophyll basis in yellow plants were 3 to 8 times greater than in green plants. Chloroplasts in yellow plants did not possess high-stacked grana, and the thylakoids displayed unusual “cross channels” reported previously only in Cassia [7] and Rhodopseudomonas [15]. Chlorophyll deficiency in Lespedeza closely parallels that reported in yellow (Su/su) tobacco [11]. The present paper is the most detailed report on chlorophyll deficiency in a wild plant, all comparable work having been done on cultivars.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burk, L., and H. A. Menser: A dominant aurea mutation in tobacco. Tobacco Sci. 8, 101–104 (1964).
—, R. N. Steward, and H. Dermen: Histogenesis and genetics of a plastid controlled chlorophyll variegation in tobacco. Amer. J. Bot. 51, 713–724 (1964).
Clewell, A. F.: Natural history, cytology, and isolating mechanisms of the native American Lespedezas. Tall Timbers Res. Stat. Bull. No. 6, Tallahassee, Florida (1966).
—, Native North American species of Lespedeza (Leguminosae). Rhodora 68, 359–405 (1966).
Gabrielsen, E. K.: Effects of different chlorophyll concentrations on photosynthesis of foliage leaves. Physiol. Plantarum (Cph.) 1, 5–37 (1948).
Gaffron, E. K., u. K. Wohl: Zur Theorie der Assimilation. Naturwissenschaften 24, 81–90, 103–107 (1936).
Homann, P. H.: Studies on the manganese of the chloroplast. Plant Physiol. 42, 997–1007 (1967).
— and G. H. Schmid: Photosynthetic reactions of chloroplasts with unusual structures. Plant Physiol. 42, 1619–1632 (1967).
Offutt, M. S.: Effect of gamma ray and thermal neutron irradiation on seed of Korean Lespedeza. Crop Science 2, 325–330 (1962).
Ohad, I., P. Siekevitz, and G. E. Palade: Biogenesis of chloroplast membranes, I and II. J. Cell Biol. 35, 521–584 (1967).
Schmid, G. H.: The influence of different light intensities on the growth of the tabacco aurea mutant Su/su. Planta (Berl.) 77, 77–94 (1967).
—, and H. Gaffron: Chloroplast structure and the photosynthetic unit. Brookhaven Symp. Biol. 19, 380–392 (1966).
——: Light metabolism and chloroplast structure in chlorophyll-deficient tobacco mutants. J. Gen. Physiol. 50, 563–582 (1967).
— J. M. Price, and H. Gaffron: Lamellar structure in chlorophyll deficient but normally active chloroplasts. J. de Microscopie 5, 205–212 (1966).
Tauschel, H. D., and G. Drews: Thylakoidmorphogenese bei Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Arch. Mikrobiol. 59, 381–404 (1967).
Willstätter, R., u. A. Stoll: Untersuchungen über die Assimilation der Kohlensäure (see p. 82, 155). Berlin: Springer 1918.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
These studies were partially supported by contract No. AT-(40-1)-2687 from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to Professor H. Gaffron.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clewell, A.F., Schmid, G.H. Chlorophyll-deficient Lespedeza procumbens . Planta 84, 166–173 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398394
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398394