Control of Flowering of Xanthium pensylvanicum by Red and Far-red Light

A study was made of the effects of various durations, intensities and combinations of red and far-red light interruptions on the flowering responses of Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr. A dual response to treatments of far-red light was observed. In short dark periods, far-red light alone did not greatly affect flowering but was able to overcome the inhibition of flowering caused by red light. In dark periods longer than 15 hours, far-red inhibited flowering and added to rather than overcame the inhibition by red light. The dark period length required for far-red inhibition remained the same whether far-red was given at the start or at the eighth hour of darkness.

In 48-hour dark periods Xanthium showed 3 responses to additions of red and far-red light breaks: A) response to red light; B) response to far-red light; and C) response to red followed by far-red light. Red light given any time in the first 30 hours of darkness overcame the inhibitory effect of far-red light given at either the start or the eighth hour of darkness. Red light given later than the thirtieth hour did not overcome the far-red effect.

Approximately the same energy of red light was required to overcome the inhibitory effect of far-red at the second hour of darkness as was required to produce maximum red light inhibition at the eighth hour. Although far-red light was most inhibitory when given early in a long dark period, approximately the same energy of far-red light was required to saturate the far-red response at the fourth, eighth and sixteenth hours.

The results are discussed in relation to other reports of far-red inhibition of flowering in short-day plants.

     

Phytochrome mediated induction of nitrate reductase activity in etiolated maize leaves

The effects of red and far-red light on the enhancement of in vitro nitrate reductase activity and on nitrate accumulation in etiolated excised maize leaves were examined. Illumination for 5 min with red light followed by a 4-h dark period caused a marked increase in nitrate reductase activity, whereas a 5-min illumination with far-red light had no effect on the enzyme activity. The effect of red light was completely reversed by a subsequent illumination with the same period of far-red light. Continuous far-red light also enhanced nitrate reductase activity. Both photoreversibility by red and far-red light and the operation of high intensity reaction under continuous far-red light indicated that the induction of nitrate reductase was mediated by phytochrome. Though nitrate accumulation was slightly enhanced by red and continuous far-red light treatments by 17% and 26% respectively, this is unlikely to account for the entire increase of nitrate reductase activity. The far-red light treatments given in water, to leaves preincubated in nitrate, enhanced nitrate reductase activity considerably over the dark control. The presence of a lag phase and inhibition of increase in enzyme activity under continuous far-red light-by tungstate and inhibitors of RNA synthesis and protein synthesis-rules out the possibility of activation of nitrate reductase and suggests de novo synthesis of the enzyme affected by phytochrome.     

Effect of light quality on somatic embryogenesis of quince leaves

The effect of light quality on somatic embryogenesis in quince BA 29 was investigated. 2,4-D induced leaves were exposed for 25 days to the following light quality treatments: dark, far-red, far-red+blue, far-red+red, blue, white, red+blue, red. After a further 20 days of white light exposure, somatic embryo production was recorded. Somatic embryogenesis was highest in cultures subjected to red light treatment, and decreased progressively with the transition to red+blue and to white. Overall, embryogenic competence showed a correlation with photoequilibrium. Phytochrome appeared to be inductive although this effect was adversely influenced by the blue absorbing photoreceptor, in particular at low photoequilibrium. Independently of light treatments applied, somatic embryos frequently showed severe morphological abnormalities. Conversion of somatic embryos to plantlets was not observed. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Effect of Light on the Phytolization of Chlorophyllide α and the Spectral Dependence of the Process

Seven days old dark-grown etiolated seedlings of wheat cultivated on nutrition solution were given short light impulses of high intensity followed by a dark period, during which the phytolization of chlorophyllic α was studied. If the leaves prior to the short light impulses were given a pretreatment consisting of a light impulse followed by three hours of darkness the phytolization rate increased. Monochromatic light as pretreatment gave a response which was mainly restricted to the red region with a peak around 660 nm.     

Evidence of phytochrome involvement in the entrainment of the circadian rhythm of carbon dioxide metabolism in Bryophyllum

The rhythm of carbon dioxide output in Bryophyllum leaves was entrained on exposure to 0.25 h of white light every 24 h. Entrainment also occurred on similar exposure to monochromatic radiation in spectral bands centred at 660 nm and, to a lesser extent, at 730 nm, but a band centred at 450 nm was without effect. A skeleton irradiation programme comprising two 0.25-h exposures to white light per 24 h also entrained the rhythm when the intervening dark periods were either 7.5 h and 16 h, or 10.5 h and 13 h. The rhythm disappeared when the two exposures were separated by 11.5-h and 12-h dark periods. Regular 0.25-h exposures to red light separated by 11.75-h periods of darkness also resulted in loss of the rhythm. Red/far-red reversibility was observed in irradiation schedules having either one or two exposures to red light daily. In the latter case, far-red reversal of the effects of one of the exposures to red light resulted in entrainment of the rhythm by the other, instead of abolition of the rhythm. The occurrence of distinct red/far-red reversibility suggests strongly that phytochrome is the pigment involved in entrainment of this rhythm by cycles of light and darkness.Abbreviation LD light-dark rhythm     

Dark reactions in the flowering ofLemna perpusilla 6746

Summary This study concerns the effects of red and far-red light on flowering in the short day plantLemna perpusilla 6746. The critical day length for maximum flowering was found to be 10 hours. Exposure to red light near the middle of the dark period inhibited flowering, and the time of maximum sensitivity to red light occurred 9 hours after the beginning of dark periods of either 14 or 17 hours. The inhibition by red light was not reversible by far-red light, which also inhibited flowering, especially when given early in the dark period. Flowering inhibited by exposure to far-red light at the beginning of the dark period could be restored by subsequent exposure to red light. It appears that two photoperiodic partial processes in some plants may be controlled by the red, far-red reversible pigment system.With 5 Figures in the Text     

Action spectra for polarotropism and phototropism in protonemata of the fern Adiantum capillus-veneris

The action spectrum for polarotropism was determined, using the Okazaki large spectrograph, by brief irradiation with light between 260 nm and 850 nm in single-celled protonemata of the fern Adiantum capillus-veneris L., which had been cultured for 6 days in red light and then in the dark for 15 h. The action spectrum had a peak at around 680 nm. This effect was nullified by subsequent irradiaton with far-red light, and typical red/far-red reversibility was observed, indicating the involvement of phytochrome. Polarized ultraviolet or blue light had no effect on the direction of apical growth. The action spectrum for phototropism was also determined in the red light region by means of brief microbeam irradiation of a flank of the subapical region of the protonema. This spectrum showed a peak at 662 nm which was consistent with the absorption peak of phytochrome, but not with the peak of the action spectrum for polarotropism.     

Die Wirkung von „Störlicht” auf die Blütenbildung von Sinapis alba L.

Summary The induction of flowering in mustard (Sinapis alba L.) was studied by means of night-breaks (Störlicht). The plants were cultivated under fully controlled conditions: 8000 Lux white light (mixed fluorescent and incandescent) 18°C, 80% relative humidity. Raised under our conditions in short days (8 hours of white light) mustard behaved as a quantitative long-day plant (Fig. 2). Flowering can be promoted by long-day treatment (Fig. 3). The long day (16 hours of white light) can be replaced by a short day plus a night-break. The highest effectiveness of the night-break is found near the middle of the dark period (Figs. 4, 5). —The spectral dependence of flower induction was studied with blue, green, yellow, red (Fig. 1) and far-red light using a 2-hour break near the middle of the dark period. The dose response curves (Fig. 6) and the action spectrum (Fig. 7) indicate a very strong effectiveness in the blue part of the spectrum, a small response in red and yellow light and no response at all in green and far-red light. The participation of phytochrome is indicated (Table 1), but no far-red reversibility could be detected (Table 2). Simultaneous irradiation with red and far-red light yielded significant enhancement effects (Fig. 8). In view of the strong shadowing in the leaves (Figs. 9, 10) these data are interpretable on the basis of phytochrome.     

Non-photosynthetic effects of red and far-red light on root-nodule formation by leguminous plants

Summary Nodulation of pea and broad bean plants grown in the light was found to be reduced when the roots were exposed to far-red light for 5–15 minutes daily during 5 consecutive days following inoculation with nodule bacteria. Similar results were obtained following a single exposure to far-red light during a period of 15 minutes at the 3rd or 4th day after inoculation. When the roots were exposed to far-red light either before inoculation or during the first two days afterwards there were either no effects or only slight effects on nodulation The inhibitory effect of far-red light on nodulation was partly reduced by subsequent exposure to red light, provided that the same part of the plant was exposed to both red and far-red light,viz either the root or the shoot. When different parts of the plant were exposed to red and far-red light respectively, there was no interaction between the two kinds of light on nodulation. Plants whose roots were exposed to far-red light did not subsequently show stem elongation.Nodules were found to develop on the roots of pea plants grown in the dark, provided that the plants were kept at or below 22°C. At 25°C nodulation was almost absent. Nodulation was decreased by addition of kinetin and IAA. In contrast to plants grown in the light pea plants grown in the dark, inoculated with either an effective or ineffective strain of Rhizobium, developed equal numbers of nodules. Exposure to red light slightly increased the percentage of nodulated plants but decreased the number of nodules per plant. Exposure to far-red light slightly decreased both the percentage of nodulated plants and the number of nodules per plant. The effect of far-red light was counteracted by red light andvice versa.     

Flowering responses to light-breaks in photomorphogenic mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana, a long-day plant

Flowering response and plant form of photomorphogenic mutants (hy1, hy2, hy3, hy4 and hy5) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.), a long-day plant, were examined in long and short days. There were only slight differences among genotypes including Landsberg wild type with respect to the flowering time under long days. The effect of 1 h light-(night)-breaks of far-red, red, blue and white light given in the middle of the dark period of plants grown under short days, was studied. Effects of far-red light applied at the end or the beginning of the main photoperiod on flowering and plant form were also examined. The light-breaks with all the above mentioned light qualities promoted floral initiation of all the genotypes including the wild type in terms of both the flowering time and the number of rosette leaves. In general, far-red light was most effective. It is possible to classify the hy-mutants into 3 groups by their responses to light-breaks under short day conditions: (a) Mutants hy2 and hy3, which have a reduced number of rosette leaves, and flower early. Red light is as effective as far-red light. The wavelength of light-breaks is relatively unimportant for flowering response. (b) Mutants hy4, hy5 and Landsberg wild type, which have a greater number of rosette leaves, and flower relatively late. The effectiveness of light-breaks is in the following order, far-red, blue, and red light, which is in reverse order to the transformation of phytochrome to the P_fr form. (c) Mutant hy1, which behaves anomalously with respect to relations between flowering time and number of rosette leaves; late flowering with reduced number of rosette leaves. Red, blue and far-red light are effective, but white light is ineffective for reducing the number of rosette leaves. When far-red light was given in the middle of the night or at the end of the main photoperiod, it markedly reduced the number of rosette leaves compared to those grown under short days for all the genotypes, while when applied at the beginning of the main photoperiod far-red light did not affect the number of rosette leaves. Different effects on the plant form dependent on the time of treatment with far-red light-breaks are also discussed.     

Antagonistic action of low-fluence and high-irradiance modes of response of phytochrome on germination and beta-mannanase activity in Datura ferox seeds

Seed germination is often induced by a pulse of red light perceived by phytochrome and cancelled by a subsequent pulse of far-red light. When the pulse of red light is followed by several hours of darkness, a pulse of far-red light is no longer effective and prolonged far-red is necessary to block germination. The aim was to investigate whether the red light pulse and prolonged far-red light act on the same or different processes during germination of Datura ferox seeds. Forty-five hours after the inductive red light pulse, germination could not be blocked by one pulse or six hourly pulses of far-red light, but was significantly reduced by 6 h of continuous far-red light. The pulse of red light increased embryo growth potential and the activities of beta-mannanase and beta-mannosidase extracted from the micropylar region of the endosperm. Continuous far-red light had no effect on embryo growth potential or beta-mannosidase activity, but severely reduced the activity of beta-mannanase. The effect of far-red light had the features of a high-irradiance response of phytochrome. Both germination and beta-mannanase activity were restored by a pulse of red light given after the end of the continuous far-red treatment. It is concluded that the low-fluence response and the high-irradiance response modes of phytochrome have antagonistic effects on seed germination and that the control of beta-mannanase activity is one process where this antagonism is established.     

The nodulation and nitrogen fixation of isolated roots of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

Summary The exposure of isolated bean roots to white light immediately before inoculation with nodule bacteria stimulated nodulation during a subsequent 7-day dark period. Strong white light applied to inoculated roots for 3 days or longer suppressed nodulation except when the light was applied immediately after inoculation and the duration of the light period did not exceed 3 days. Alternating periods of 12 hours light and 12 hours darkness were almost as inhibitory to nodulation as a continuous exposure to light. A combination of blue and far-red light inhibited nodule formation more than a combination of red and far-red light. Light treatments that inhibited nodulation also suppressed the production of lateral roots, but to a lesser extent. The effect of light on nodulation and lateral root formation was not influenced by the presence or absence of an attached hypocotyl segment in the explant.     

Infection Process of Botrytis cinerea on Eucalypt Leaves

This study aimed to elucidate the infection process of Botrytis cinerea on eucalypt leaves. Tests were conducted to evaluate the influence of leaf side (adaxial or abaxial), leaf age and luminosity on conidial germination, appressorium formation and grey mould (GM) severity. The adaxial and abaxial surfaces of detached eucalypt leaves were inoculated with a conidial suspension of B. cinerea and kept under constant light or dark. Subsequently, the adaxial surface of young and old leaves was inoculated and kept in the dark. To evaluate the percentage of conidia germination and appressorium formation, leaf samples were collected 6 hours after inoculation (hai), clarified (alcohol and chloral hydrate) and evaluated under a light microscope. The severity of GM was assessed 10 days after inoculation. For scanning electron microscopy analysis, samples were collected from 2 to 168 hai. A higher percentage of conidia germination (92%) and GM severity (21%) occurred on the adaxial surfaces of leaves kept in the dark. There was no statistical difference between the surfaces of young and old leaves for conidia germination. No appressorium was formed by B. cinerea. The GM severity on young leaves (17.3%) was 34 times higher than on old leaves (0.5%). The micrographs showed germinating conidia emitting 1–4 germ tubes in samples at 4 hai. The fungus penetration occurred through intact leaf surfaces, and both extra‐ and intracellular colonization of the mesophyll cells by the hyphae of the pathogen were observed at 120 hai. Sporulation occurred on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces (macronematous conidiophores) and below the epidermis (micronematous conidiophores).     

INDUCTION OF SPORE GERMINATION IN SCHIZAEA PUSILLA (SCHIZAEACEAE)

Requirements for spore germination in the rare and native New Jersey fern, Schizaea pusilla Pursh., were examined. Spores did not germinate in darkness and gibberellins (GA) did not induce germination in the dark. However, a dark pretreatment promoted germination in a subsequent light treatment and low temperatures during the dark pretreatment greatly enhanced germination in culture. Three wks of dark pretreatment were required for maximum germination. GA₃ promoted germination in red light more effectively than GA₄₊₇. Greater than ten days of continuous illumination was necessary for germination. Spores given red light reached half-maximum germination six days earlier than spores under white light. Red light promoted germination while blue light did not. Far-red light alone could stimulate germination and enhanced the promotive effect of red light; typical phytochrome photoreversibility was not observed. Blue light reduced the effect of red light.     

Are phytochrome-mediated effects on leaf growth, carbon partitioning and extractable sucrose-phosphatesynthase activity the mere consequence of stem-growthresponses in light-grown mustard?

Growth, carbohydrate pools and extractable sucrose-phosphatesynthase (SPS) activity were studied in the leaves of light-grownmustard seedlings exposed tored or far-red end-of-day lightpulses. Over a single dark period far-red, compared to red light(a) had no effect on leaf amounts of reducing sugars, sucrose,starch, and hemicellulose, (b) reduced cellulose accu-mulationin the leaves, and (c) caused a rapid promo-tion of extractableactivity for SPS (lag     

Phytochromabhängiger Ionentransport in Erbsensämlingen

Summary Five to 6 day old dark-adapted dwarf and tall pea seedlings grown in water culture were illuminated for ten minutes with red light and/or ten minutes with far-red light, and 90 to 170 minutes later their roots were immersed in a 0.2 mM K⁺ solution containing labeled ⁸⁶Rb⁺. After two hours uptake the fresh-weights and radioactivities of the shoot organs were determined. It was found that red light inhibits K⁺uptake into internodes and promotes uptake into the plumula. The red-light effect on K⁺transport precedes the red-light induced growth inhibition of internodes and growth promotion of leaves and is abolished by far-red light given immediately after red. The red-light effect on K⁺transport is independent of the concentration of K⁺ given to the roots in the range between 0.2 to 125 mM.     

Effects on Phytochrome Controlled Germination Produced by Far-Red Irradiation of Seeds Before and During Rehydration

Seeds irradiated with red light and then re-dried will respondto this light treatment on subsequent rehydration in the dark.If such high-Pfr seeds are irradiated in the dry state withfar-red light immediately before rehydration the percentagegermination is significantly reduced in the case of Plantagomajor and Sinapis arvensis but increased in Bromus steriliswhere Pfr inhibits germination. This effect of far-red lightcan be reversed by red light despite the fact that red lightalone has no effect on dry seed. This is due to the interconversionof Pfr and the red light absorbing phytochrome intermediatecomplex meta-Fa. If there is a delay between far-red irradiationand rehydration of Sinapis seeds, the inhibitory effect of thefar-red irradiation becomes progressively less the longer thedelay. This reduction in effectiveness of far-red is interpretedin terms of a dark reversal of meta-Fa to Pfr with a half-lifeof about 4–6 h. The reappearance of Pfr is either veryslow or docs not occur in dehydrated Plantago seeds, as far-redtight given 96 h prior to hydration is just as inhibitory asfar-red light given immediately before hydration. Meta-Fa doesappear to revert to Pfr in darkness in Bromus seeds, but onlyvery slowly. The rapid increase in effectiveness of red irradiationduring rehydration of high-Pfr Plantago seeds suggests that,in this species, the pre-treatment used in preparation of high-Pfrseeds may increase the receptivity or amount of the Pfr reactionpartner. Key words: Phytochrome intermediates, Seeds, Germination     

Phytochrome regulation of nitrate reductase in wheat

In excised wheat leaves, the activity of nitrate reductase was enhanced by a brief pulse of red light and this increase was reversed by far-red light irradiation. Even under continuous far-red light, nitrate reductase activity increased by 258% after 18 h. When leaves were kept in distilled water during exposure to red light and then transferred to potassium nitrate, there was no difference in endogenous nitrate concentration. The nitrate reductase activity was the same whether leaves were floated in potassium nitrate or in distilled water during irradiation. Partial to complete inhibition of enzyme activity was observed when leaves were incubated in actinomycin-D and cycloheximide respectively, following 4 h of red light irradiation.In vitro irradiation of extract had no significant effect on nitrate reductase activity     

Action and interaction of red and far-red radiation on lipoxidase metabolism of squash seedlings

Lipoxidase, in the cotyledons of squash (Cucurbita moscata) seedlings grown in the dark, reached its peak activity on the fifth day and then declined to its lowest activity on the eighth day. Under continuous irradiation, the rate of enzyme disappearance was accelerated by red (655 mμ) and was retarded by far-red (735 mμ) radiation. Acceleration of enzyme disappearance caused by red light was reversed repeatedly by far-red light in seedlings that received an initial exposure to red radiation. These responses were independent of the duration of irradiation at each of the alternating wavebands. No change was observed when the white light was administered either 24 hours before or 24 hours after the red, far-red treatment.

The lipoxidase system of the seedlings given an initial exposure to far-red radiation also responded reversibly to alternating far-red, red extended exposures, but it failed to respond reversibly when short exposures were employed. Similarly, no change occurred in these seedlings when either pre- or post-treatment with the white light was applied.

These results demonstrate that the capacity of lipoxidase to act reversibly depends primarily on the duration of exposure and on the kind of light (red or far-red) to which the seedlings were exposed initially. In spite of these variations, lipoxidase metabolism can be considered an additional biochemical manifestation of red, far-red reaction that operates in the photomorphogenesis of plants.