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Great promoting effect of high irradiance from germination on flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana — a process of photo-acclimation

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

Arabidopsis thaliana L., ch1-1 (chlorophyll b-less mutant), gi-1 (GI deficient mutant), cry2-1 (blue-light-photoreceptor CRY2 deficient mutant), and Columbia (Col; wild ecotype) were grown under broad range of irradiances (I) from the beginning of germination and the effect of I on the survival, development, and flowering was studied. Under low and moderate I (<300 µmol m−2 s−1), flowering time and plant size at flowering showed great variations among ch1-1, gi-1, cry2-1, and Col, whereas under higher I (>500 µmol m−2 s−1), these characteristics were almost the same. Hence under high I, development and flowering of ch1-1, gi-1, cry2-1, and Col converged to almost the same state. Flowering time was negatively correlated with I, and under high I acclimation in A. thaliana was associated with a decrease in chlorophyll (Chl) content and increases in xanthophyll cycle pool and membrane-bound APX activity (EC 1.11.1.11) suggesting that an increase in oxidative stress induces earlier flowering. The plants of gi-1 and cry2-1 survived but Col and ch1-1 died under 1 000 µmol m−2 s−1, showing that mutants deficient in GI or CRY2 are more photo-stress-tolerant than Col and the Chl b-less mutant. Hence high I promotes in plants of Arabidopsis raised from germination till flowering the development and flowering time involving modulation of the photosynthetic apparatus, and this promoting effect is independent of the functions of flower-inducing GI or CRY2 gene. This can be regarded as photo-acclimation of A. thaliana for survival and reproduction under high I.

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Abbreviations

AsA:

ascorbate

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

AZ/VAZ:

de-epoxidation rate

Chl:

chlorophyll

FLT:

flowering time

FM:

fresh mass

H2O2 :

hydrogen peroxide

I:

irradiance

LN:

number of leaves per plant

PS:

photosystem

RD:

rosette diameter

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

tAPX:

membrane-bound APX

VAZ:

xanthophyll cycle pool

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0819, Japan

    S. Moharekar, S. Moharekar, R. Tanaka, A. Tanaka & T. Hara

  2. Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST), Japan

    S. Moharekar, K. I. Ogawa, A. Tanaka & T. Hara

  3. Research Institute for Biological Sciences, Okayama (RIBS), 7549-1 Yoshikawa, Okayama, 716-1241, Japan

    K. I. Ogawa

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  1. S. Moharekar
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  2. S. Moharekar
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  3. R. Tanaka
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  4. K. I. Ogawa
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  5. A. Tanaka
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  6. T. Hara
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Correspondence to S. Moharekar.

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Moharekar, S., Moharekar, S., Tanaka, R. et al. Great promoting effect of high irradiance from germination on flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana — a process of photo-acclimation. Photosynthetica 45, 259–265 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-007-0042-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-007-0042-0

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