Abstract
Carbon dioxide fixation by leaf pieces from 12 different chloroplast mutants and wild type barley has been analysed. In the light leaf pieces from wild type seedlings fixed14CO2 at a rate of approximately 80 μmoles per gram fresh weight per hour, or 40 μmoles per mg chlorophyll per hour. Fixation of14CO2 in darkness occurred at one to four per cent of the rate in light.
Five of the mutants investigated (vir-zb 63, vir-l27, vir-zd69, vir-c12 andxan-m 3) were completely blocked in light-dependent CO2 fixation. The mutantsvir-m 29, vir-u46, xan-d49, xan-c47, vir-t45, xan-t50 andvir-k 23 all yielded reduced photosynthetic rates on a gram fresh weight basis, but, with the exception ofvir-k 23, their photosynthetic rates on a chlorophyll basis differed by less than a factor of two from that of the wild type. On a chlorophyll basisvir-k 23 showed an enhanced rate of14CO2 fixation in comparison with the wild type.
Barley mutants lacking light-dependent14CO2 incorporation fixed in darkness or in light similar small amounts of14CO2 into malate, aspartate, glutamate and citrate as did the wild type in darkness. Photosynthetic products in the mutants capable of light-dependent CO2 fixation were qualitatively the same as in the wild type, and the patterns of distribution of tracer carbon gave no evidence of any defects in reactions following the fixation of CO2. The gross correlation between chlorophyll contents and photosynthetic rates on a chlorophyll basis among these mutants with the exception ofvir-k 23 suggests that the reduced absorption of light by the lower amounts of chlorophyll in these mutants is the major or only factor responsible for their reduced photosynthetic rates on a gram fresh weight of leaf basis.
The suggestion is made thatvir-k 23, which is characterized by a far higher photosynthetic rate in bright light than the wild type on a chlorophyll basis, contains several-fold lower amounts of light-harvesting chlorophyll per photosynthetic unit than wild type, whereas the other mutants that are capable of photosynthesis have photosynthetic units of the same size as the wild type but fewer of them.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- fr.wt.:
-
fresh weight
- ft.c.:
-
footcandles
- UDP:
-
glucose-uridine diphosphate glucose
- xan :
-
xantha
- vir :
-
viridis
- chl. :
-
chlorophyll
References
Arnon, D. I.: Copper enzymes in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenoloxidase in Beta vulgaris. Plant Physiol. 24, 1–15 (1949)
Benson, A. A., J. A. Bassham, M. Calvin, T. C. Goodale, V. A. Haas &W. Stepka: The path of carbon in photosynthesis. V. Paper chromatography and radioautography of the products. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 72, 1710–1718 (1950)
Gee, R., G. Joshi, R. F. Bils &P. Saltman: Light and dark C14O2 fixation by spinach leaf systems. Plant Physiol. 40, 89–96 (1965)
Graham, D. &D. A. Walker: Some effects of light on the interconversion of metabolites in green leaves. Biochem. J. 82, 554–560 (1962)
Heber, U. &J. Willenbrink: Sites of synthesis and transport of photosynthesis products within the leaf cell. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 82, 313–324 (1964)
Henningsen, K. W., J. E. Boynton, D. von Wettstein & N. K. Boardman: Nuclear genes controlling chloroplast development in barley. In “The Biochemistry of Gene Expression in Higher Organisms”. Pollak, J. K. and J. W. Lee eds., Australian and New Zealand Book Company. pp 457–478 (1973)
Henningsen, K. W., N. C. Nielsen &R. M. Smillie: The effect of nuclear mutations on the assembly of photosynthetic membranes in barley. Portugal. Acta Biol. Ser. A. XIV, 323–344 (1974)
Henningsen, K. W. &S. W. Thorne: Esterification and spectral shifts of chlorophyll(ide) in wildtype and mutant seedlings developed in darkness. Physiol. Plant 30, 82–89 (1974)
Jensen, R. G. &J. A. Bassham: Photosynthesis by isolated chloroplasts. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 56, 1095–1101 (1966)
Kahn, A. & B. Carlsen: Evaluation of the photosynthetic capacity of leaves using the oxygen rate electrode. Abstract. VIII. Internat. Congr. Photobiol. Aug. 29th–Sept. 3rd, P 56 (1976)
Nielsen, N. C., K. W. Henningsen &R. M. Smillie: Chloroplast membrane proteins in wild-type and mutant barley. In “Proceedings of the Third International Congress on Photosynthesis”. M. Avron ed., Elsevier Scientific Publ. Co., Amsterdam. pp 1603–1614 (1975)
Pedersen, T. A., M. Kirk &J. A. Bassham: Light-dark transients in levels of intermediate compounds during photosynthesis in airadapted Chlorella. Physiol. Plant. 19, 219–231 (1966)
Tamas, I. A., E. W. Yemm &R. G. S. Bidwell: The development of photosynthesis in dark-grown barley leaves upon illumination. Canad. J. Bot. 48, 2313–2317 (1970)
Tolbert, N. E. &F. B. Gailey: Carbon dioxide fixation by etiolated plants after exposure to white light. Plant Physiol. 30, 491–499 (1955)
Wettstein, D. von, K. W. Henningsen, J. E. Boynton, G. C. Kannangara &O. F. Nielsen: The genic control of chloroplast development in barley. In “Autonomy and Biogenesis of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts”. N. K. Boardman, A. W. Linnane and R. M. Smillie eds., North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp 205–223 (1971)
Wettstein, D. von &K. Kristiansen: Stock list for nuclear gene mutants affecting the chloroplast. Barley Genetics Newsletter 3, 113–117 (1973)
Zelitch, I.: Photosynthesis, Photorespiration and Plant Productivity. Academic Press, New York. pp 107–112 (1971)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carlsen, B. Barley mutants with defects in photosynthetic carbon dioxide fixation. Carlsberg Res. Commun. 42, 199–209 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02910462
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02910462