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Carbon metabolism enzymes and photosynthesis in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) having excess phytochrome

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Abstract

J.M. Keller et al. (1989, EMBO J. 8, 1005–1012) introduced a phytochrome gene controlled by a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) providing material to test whether several photosynthesis enzymes can be increased by one modification to the plant. We report here that this transgenic tobacco had greater amounts of all enzymes examined as well as greater amounts of total protein and chlorophyll per unit leaf area. Fructose bisphosphatase (E.C. 3.1.3.11), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.2.1.12), and sucrose-phosphate synthase (E.C. 2.4.1.14) were also higher when expressed per unit protein. However, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (E.C. 4.1.1.39) amount per unit leaf protein was the same in transgenic and wild-type (WT) plants. Photosynthesis in the transgenic plants was lower than in WT at air levels of CO2, but higher than in WT above 1000 μbar CO2. The photosynthesis results indicated a high resistance to CO2 diffusion in the mesophyll of the transgenic plants. Examination of electron micrographs showed that chloroplasts in the transgenic plants were often cup-shaped, preventing close association between chloroplast and cell surface. Chloroplast cupping may have caused the increase in the mesophyll resistance to CO2 diffusion. We conclude that it is possible to affect more than one enzyme with a single modification, but unexpected physical modifications worsened the photosynthetic performance of this plant.

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Abbreviations

CABP:

2-carboxyarabitinol 1,5-bisphosphate

FBP:

fructose-1,6-bisphosphate

FBPase:

fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

GAP:

glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate

Rubisco:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase

SPS:

sucrose-phosphate synthase

WT:

wild type

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA

    Thomas D. Sharkey

  2. Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA

    Richard D. Vierstra

Authors
  1. Thomas D. Sharkey
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  2. Terry L. Vassey
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  3. Peter J. Vanderveer
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  4. Richard D. Vierstra
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Additional information

This research was supported by U.S. Department of Energy contracts DE-FG02-87ER60568 to T.D.S. and DE-FG02-88ER 13968 to R.D.V. We thank Drs. Joel Cherry and Howard P. Hershey for assistance with the transgenic plants.

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Sharkey, T.D., Vassey, T.L., Vanderveer, P.J. et al. Carbon metabolism enzymes and photosynthesis in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) having excess phytochrome. Planta 185, 287–296 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00201046

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00201046

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