Carotenoid Synthesis in Leaves of Wheat after Irradiation by Red Light

A short inipulse of red light induces a Carotenoid synthesis in dark-grown wheat leaves. This effect is particularly evident if the leaves, having received a short light impulse, are kept in darkness for six hours prior to a period of continuous irradiation for six hours. During this second period of irradiation much more carotenoids are formed than during an irradiation period of the same length, but not preceded by a pre-irradiation. The main increase in pigment contents can be brought back to β-carotene. For this pigment the short light impulse nearly doubles the pigment synthesis during a subsequent dark and light period of six + six hours as compared to the amount formed during six hours of light without pre-irradiation.     

Carotenoid Synthesis in Leaves of Etiolated Wheat Seedlings after Varying Light and Dark Treatments

A short impulse of red light has a varying effect on carotenoid synthesis in dark-grown wheat seedlings. Except for β-carotene, which remains unchanged in the dark (it increases in continuous light), the carotenoid synthesis shows the same tendency as during constant irradiation. Thus, lutein and neoxanthin slowly increases, while violaxanthin decreases. During a period of constant light following various periods of darkness after the short impulse of light, the pigment changes correspond to those occurring in the dark, but are much more pronounced. The changes are discussed on the basis of phytochrome action.     

蓝光诱导的胶孢炭疽菌(Colletotrichum gloeosporioides)类胡萝卜素积累

胶孢炭疽菌(Colletotrichumgloeosporioides)为一种丝状真菌,蓝光照射可诱导类胡萝卜素的积累。光镜下观察表明,蓝光可诱导胶孢炭疽菌菌丝积累色素颗粒,而黑暗和红光处理却无此现象。类胡萝卜素的积累受蓝光光照强度的影响。28℃且蓝光为6.5μmol.m-2.s-1时,类胡萝卜素积累量可随光照时间延长呈增长趋势,在第5天达到最高峰为71.8μg/g FW,随后含量下降。此外,胶孢炭疽菌在黑暗中预培养的时间也影响蓝光的诱导反应。     

Thylakoid membrane biogenesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 137+. II. Cell-cycle variations in the synthesis and assembly of pigment

Synthesis of the chlorophyll and the major carotenoid pigments and their assembly into thylakoid membrane have been studied throughout the 12-h light/12-h dark vegetative cell cycle of synchronous Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 137+ (wild-type). Pulse exposure of cells to radioactive acetate under conditions in which labeling accurately reflects lipogenesis, followed by cellular fractionation to purify thylakoid membrane, allowed direct analysis of the pigment synthesis and assembly attendant to thylakoid biogenesis. All pigments are synthesized and assembled into thylakoids continuously, but differentially, with respect to cell-cycle time. Highest synthesis and assembly rates are confined to the photoperiod (mid-to-late G1) and support chlorophyll and carotenoid accretion before M-phase. The lower levels at which these processes take place during the dark period (S, M, and early-to- mid G1) have been ascribed to pigment turnover. Within this general periodic pattern, pigment synthesis and assembly occur in a "multi- step" manner, i.e., by a temporally-ordered, stepwise integration of the various pigments into the thylakoid membrane matrix. The cell-cycle kinetics of pigment assembly at the subcellular level mirror the kinetics of pigment synthesis at the cellular level, indicating that pigment synthesis not only provides chlorophyll and carotenoid for thylakoid biogenesis but may also serve as a critical rate-determinant to pigment assembly.     

DIEL CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS AND CELLULAR CARBON AND NITROGEN IN PYRAMIMONAS PARKEAE (PRASINOPHYCEAE)1

Diel changes in mean cell volume, cellular carbon (carbon content per cell), cellular Chl a, C/N ratio, Chl a/carbon ratio and pigment composition were determined for an axenic clonal culture of Pyramimonas parkeae Norris et Pearson through three 12:12 h LD cycles in a laboratory culture tank of 1 m³. Mean cell volume and cellular C, N and most pigments increased during the light period as a result of photosynthesis and decreased with an increase in cell density by phased cell division during the dark period. Chi a and Chi b increased in a parallel manner during the light period. Increases in the diel synthesis pattern of carotenoids varied. Violaxanthin and lutein content increased for a few hours at the beginning of the light period and preceeded that of neoxanthin. The diel synthesis pattern of neoxanthin was similar to that of Chi a. Increases of loroxanthin and its ester form were slower than that of Chi a at the beginning of the light period. A net increase of α-carotene was observed during the dark period. Mass spectroscopy of carotenoid structure showed a new xanthophyll, loroxanthin dodecenoate, in this species.     

Environmental and developmental regulation of carotenogenesis in the dimorphic fungus Mucor rouxii

Aerobic mycelium of wild-type Mucor rouxii accumulated about ten times higher amounts of the carotenoid pigment -carotene when grown continuously in the presence of light than the corresponding cultures grown in the dark. Carotenoid accumulation was dependent on light intensity, with the threshold located at about 10^-2 W.m^-2. Photocarotenogenesis in complex medium was more efficient with glucose as a carbon source. Carotenoid synthesis by M. rouxii mycelium was unaffected by both retinol acetate and retinal, which are stimulators of carotenogenesis in other zygomycetes. Carotenogenesis was significant in aerobic mycelium but was almost undetectable in anaerobic mycelium as well as in aerobic or anaerobic yeast cells. This suggested an involvement of oxygen in carotenoid synthesis by M. rouxii and the existence of developmental regulation of the expression or operation of the pathway.     

Phytochrome and Seed Germination: VI. Phytochrome and Temperature Interaction in the Control of Cucumber Seed Germination

Phytochrome control of cucumber seed germination is temperature-dependent. A prolonged exposure to radiation from broad spectrum far red sources (Pfr/P = 0.05 to 0.07) prevents germination at temperatures below 20 C. Above 20 C there is no inhibition and it appears as if there is an escape from phytochrome control. However, radiation from a monochromatic, narrow band 730 nanometer source (Pfr/P < 0.02) inhibits germination at temperatures above 20 C. This result supports the idea that, even at high temperatures, Pfr is responsible for the activation of germination. After 4 days of exposure to far red, a short red irradiation is quite effective in promoting germination if temperatures during the dark incubation periods are maintained below 20 C; red becomes effective at temperatures above 20 C. Promotion of germination will take place at a temperature of 25 C or higher without red irradiation. Again, we have an apparent escape from phytochrome control at high temperatures. However, if higher temperatures are used for only short periods, 2 to 6 hours, in combination with short red irradiation, one can demonstrate that activation of germination at high temperatures is still dependent on phytochrome. Phytochrome is probably destroyed during prolonged exposure to far red. Thus, the subsequent short red irradiation establishes levels of Pfr which may not be sufficient to promote germination at low temperatures but are probably adequate at high temperatures.     

Temperature-sensitive deoxyribonucleic acid replication in a dnaC mutant of Bacillus subtilis.

A temperature-sensitive mutant of Bacillus subtilis is defective in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, contains a lesion in the dnaC locus, and is not primarily an initiation mutant. The amount of DNA synthesized by this mutant at temperatures above 40 C decreases with increasing temperature. DNA synthesis resumes within 20 min after the temperature is lowered to 30 C. In the presence of chloramphenical, DNA synthesis begins at a reduced rate after the temperature is lowered to 30 C. Spores germinated at 46 C cannot initiate DNA replication. The capacity for residual DNA synthesis is stable at the restrictive temperature during inhibition of DNA synthesis. When the temperature is lowered to 30 C after a period of incubation at 43 C, DNA synthesis starts at the origin of the chromosome as well as at preexisting growing points. Similar DNA synthesis patterns are found in mutant cells in vivo and after toluene treatment.     

Comparison of carotenoid content,gene expression and enzyme levels in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) leaves

Physiological conditions which lead to changes in total carotenoid content in tomato plantlets were identified. Carotenoid levels were found to increase after the onset of a dark period during a normal 24 h cycle. This rapid initial increase is followed by a steady decrease in carotenoid content throughout the night. A decrease in the expression of several carotenogenic genes, namely pds, zds (carotenoid desaturases) and ptox (plastid terminal oxidase), was observed following the removal of the light (when carotenoid content is at its highest). An increase in gene expression was observed before the return to light for pds and zds (when carotenoid levels were at their lowest), or following the return to light for ptox. The phytoene desaturation inhibitor norflurazon leads to a decrease coloured carotenoid content and, in the light, this correlated with pds and zds gene induction. In the dark, norflurazon treatment led to only a weak decrease in carotenoid content and only a small increase in pds and zds gene expression. The striking absence of phytoene accumulation under norflurazon treatment in the dark suggests a down-regulation of carotenoid formation in darkness However, prolonged dark conditions, or treatment with photosynthetic inhibitors, surprisingly led to higher carotenoid levels, which correlated with decreased expression of most examined genes. In addition to light, which acts in a complex way on carotenoid accumulation and gene expression, our results are best explained by a regulatory effect of carotenoid levels on the expression of several biosynthetic genes. In addition, monitoring of protein amounts for phytoene desaturase and plastid terminal oxidase (which sometimes do not correlate with gene expression) indicate an even more complex regulatory pattern.     

Fluence response relationship of carotenogenesis inNeurospora crassa

The fluence response of the blue light induced carotenoid synthesis inNeurospora is biphasic. Using fluence rates between 0.3 and 40 Wm^-2, increasing illumination times beyond 16 min (at 20°C) result in a second rise of the amount of carotenoids synthesized in the subsequent dark period. On altering the temperature, the transition point to the second phase of the response is shifted to shorter/longer illumination periods with increasing/decreasing temperature, respectively. The transition point can also be shifted by administering high fluence rates of near UV light: The start of the second phase is already triggered after an irradiation time of 2 min. The findings suggest that elements of the transduction sequence become depleted and senstivity recovers in a temperature-dependent process. The biphasic response and the effects of UV light are discussed in relation to the transduction mechanism and to the ecological significance.Presented in part at the meeting of the Deutsche Botanische Gesellschaft, September 1978, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany     

Seed dormancy-breaking and germination requirements ofDrosera anglica,an insectivorous species of the Northern Hemisphere

Seeds of Drosera anglica collected in Sweden were dormant at maturity in late summer, and dormancy break occurred during cold stratification. Stratified seeds required light for germination, but light had to be given after temperatures were high enough to be favorable for germination. Seeds stratified in darkness at 5/1 °C and incubated in light at 12/12 h daily temperature regimes of 15/6, 20/10 and 25/15 °C germinated slower and to a significantly lower percentage at each temperature regime than those stratified in light and incubated in light. Length of the stratification period required before seeds would germinate to high percentages depended on (1) whether seeds were in light or in darkness during stratification and during the subsequent incubation period, and (2) the temperature regime during incubation. Seeds collected in 1999 germinated to 4, 24 and 92 % in light at 15/6, 20/10 and 25/15 °C, respectively, after 2 weeks of stratification in light. Seeds stratified in light for 18 weeks and incubated in light at 15/6, 20/10 and 25/15 °C germinated to 87, 95 and 100 %, respectively, while those stratified in darkness for 18 weeks and incubated in light germinated to 6, 82 and 91 %, respectively. Seeds collected from the same site in 1998 and 1999, stratified in light at 5/1 °C and incubated in light at 15/6 °C germinated to 22 and 87 %, respectively, indicating year-to-year variation in degree of dormancy. As dormancy break occurred, the minimum temperature for germination decreased. Thus, seed dormancy is broken in nature by cold stratification during winter, and by spring, seeds are capable of germinating at low habitat temperatures, if they are exposed to light.     

Quantitative Studies on Pigment Migration and Light Sensitivity in the Compound Eye at Different Light Intensities

Comparative electrophysiological and histological studies were made on the functional significance of the secondary iris pigment migration for the sensitivity of the eye in the noctuid moth Cerapteryx graminis. The pigment position at different adapting light intensities was studied as well as the influence of different positions on the sensitivity of the eye. Adapting light intensities above a certain value hold the pigment in light position. At a 3 log units lower intensity the pigment is brought into dark position and at light intensities between these limiting values the pigment attains intermediate positions. The results indicate that at light intensities between the limiting values the pigment shifts closely follow the changes in intensity of the environmental light. With the pigment in dark position the eye is about 1000 times more sensitive than when the pigment is in light position, there being a close relationship between the sensitivity of the eye and the position of the pigment at intermediate positions.     

Photoinduction of carotenoid biosynthesis in Gibberella fujikuroi

Abstract Carotenoid biosynthesis is photoinducible in Gibberella fujikuroi , an organism used in the fermentive production of the gibberellins. The light exposed needed for an appreciable response is higher than those required for other fungi, such as Fusarium aquaeductuum and Neurospora crassa , under identical conditions. Time course of the accumulation of carotenoids is very similar to that for Fusarium aquaeductuum . Growth in one of the culture media used increases the carotenoid content in the dark but does not affect photoinduction. Three mutants with enhanced carotenoid synthesis in the dark show the same response to light as the wild-type. Our results suggest that photoinduction of carotenogenesis in Gibberella fujikori is independent of the carotenoid content already present in dark-grown cultures.     

Characteristics of alternating temperatures which stimulate loss of dormancy in seeds of Rumex obtusifolius L. and Rumex crispus L.

Abstract. Alternating temperatures stimulate the germination of Rumex crispus L. and Rumex obtusifolius L. The optimum period spent at the lower temperature in a diurnal cycle is greater than that spent at the higher temperature. Under most conditions the optimum period at the upper temperatures is about 8 h but, as the upper temperature of a cycle is increased, the optimum period at the upper temperature becomes shorter and more critical. Thus when it is 35°C the optimum period is 2.5–4 h in the light, or about 1 h in the dark. The effect of alternating temperatures is much less in the dark than in the light and in general only extreme alternations with short periods at the higher temperature are effective in the dark. In the light any temperature alternation within the range 1–35°C is effective to at least some extent, providing the temperature difference is 5°C or more and providing the alternation includes one temperature which is above approximately 15°C and one which is below approximately 25°C. The optimum temperature difference is about 15°C. In the light, 4 to 10 cycles saturate the response, but in the dark, where the effect is much less, the response may not be saturated even by 16 cycles. KNO₃ at 10⁻³ M has little effect on the response to alternating temperatures either in the light or the dark. The response to alternating temperature regimes does not appear to vary in quality, i.e., in terms of which particular treatments are best, but it varies in magnitude with site and year of seed collection; and it increases slowly during dry storage, even when stored at a temperature as low as 1.5°C.     

Quantitative aspects of carotenoid pigment circadian variations in the crayfish Astacus leptodactylus

The carotenoid pigment concentrations of whole animal, epidermis and hepatopancreas of the crayfish Astacus leptodactylus were studied every three hours during a period of 24 h. The extract of whole animal exhibits a total pigment concentration which remains noticeably stable. Circadian variations were observed in extracts from the hepatopancreas and epidermis; the maxima observed for the epidermis as well as the minima recorded for the hepatopancreas are related to the alternating light and dark periods. The symmetry of such variations suggests a transfer of pigment between the two tissues.     

Cyanobacterial carotenoids: their roles in maintaining optimal photosynthetic production among aquatic bloom forming genera

Summary Photoprotective and photosynthetic roles of carotenoid pigments (xanthophylls and -carotene) were examined in the major bloom forming blue-green algal (cyanobacterial) genera, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon and Microcystis. Since these genera often reside as scums in surface waters, attention was given to the ability of carotenoids to counter potential photooxidation due to maximum near U.V. and visible radiation as well as O₂ supersaturation, characterizing surface waters supporting blooms. In U.V.-transparent quartz incubation flasks it was shown that inhibition of carotenoid synthesis by diphenylamine led to rapid photooxidation among the above genera. When carotenoid synthesis was allowed to proceed, a high degree of resistance to photooxidation resulted. Prolonged exposure to near U.V. irradiation led to enhanced carotenoid synthesis relative to chlorophyll a, which extended viability. Carotenoid enhancement also increased chlorophyll a-specific photosynthetic O₂ production. It is concluded that enhanced carotenoid synthesis observed during blooms serves at least two ecological functions, i) providing photoprotection and ii) increasing photosynthetic performance of surface cyanobacterial populations.     

Untersuchungen über die lichtabhängige Carotinoidsynthese

Summary Under anaerobic conditions Fusarium aquaeductuum is able to synthesize carotenogenic enzymes but does not produce pigments. If illumination of the mycelia in the presence of oxygen is followed by an incubation in the dark under N₂ atmosphere, the strictly concurrent formation of the different carotenoids sets off as soon as aerobic conditions are restored. The paraboloidal increase of pigment production possibly indicates that synthesis of carotenogenic enzymes is also resumed. Blocking this enzyme synthesis by addition of cycloheximide leads to a simultaneous and linear increase of each carotenoid portion as soon as oxygen is replenished. This is interpreted to mean that light induces carotenogenic enzymes in a coupled group. On the other hand, our present and earlier results do not support any hypothesis on the existence of a carotenogenic multienzyme complex. The composition of the pigment after carotenoid production has ceased provides evidence for a selective inhibition of the synthesis of individual carotenogenic enzymes. Changes in pigment composition caused by an incubation of the mycelia for 12 h under anaerobic conditions are also reported.     

Distribution and nonphotochemical transformation of phytochrome in subcellular fractions from pisum epicotyls

In etiolated pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska) shoots about 3% of the total extractable phytochrome was found in the mitochondrial fraction and about 4.5% in the microsomal fraction, while over 70% was soluble in the 105,000g supernatant. The value of Δ(ΔA) per milligram of protein was significantly higher in the 105,000g supernatant than in these particulate fractions. The percentage conversion of Pr to Pfr was approximately proportional to the total dose of red light in every subcellular fraction tested, unless the dose approached a saturation level. After a brief irradiation of intact shoots with red light at 26 C, each subcellular fraction showed different patterns of dark transformation in vivo at 26 C; that is, the amount of the particulate-bound phytochrome increased immediately after the irradiation, and a reversion of Pfr to Pr was indicated for the first 2 hr in the 12,000g supernatant, but not at all in the mitochondrial and microsomal fractions. The amounts of Pr in the mitochondrial and microsomal fractions did not change during the dark incubation, while those in the 12,000g supernatant increased with time. Similar results were obtained with apical shoot segments after exposure to red light at 0 C and a subsequent dark incubation on moist filter paper at 26 C.     

Untersuchungen über die lichtabhängige Carotinoidsynthese

Summary The effect of dithionite, hydroxylamine and hydrogen peroxide on the light dependent carotenoid synthesis in Fusarium aquaeductuum has been investigated in order to find indications whether redox reactions are involved in the first steps of photoinduction.Addition of dithionite (5·10^-3 M/l) to the mycelium some time after illumination prevented carotenoid synthesis completely; however, when dithionite was removed after 30 min by washing the mycelium with buffer, Fusarium synthesized nearly the same amounts of carotenoids as it does without dithionite incubation. To prevent this direct effect on biosynthesis of pigments, the mycelium was treated for only 30 min at different times before and after a short illumination with buffered dithionite solution. When dithionite was present during the illumination or was applied up to 21/2 min after the lights had been switched off, no carotenoids were synthesized at all. The inhibitory effect of dithionite gradually decreased during a 171/2 min period following the end of the illumination time. After this period treatment with dithionite showed no irreversible influence whatsoever on the carotenoid synthesis. Essentially the same results were obtained when hydroxylamine (10^-2 M/l, freshly prepared) was used as a reducing agent.On the other hand incubation with buffered hydrogen peroxide solution (10^-2 to 10^-1 M/l) in the dark simulated the effect of illumination in inducing carotenoid synthesis. Both the kinetics of the pigment production and the inhibition by cycloheximide suggest that treatment with hydrogen peroxide in the dark truly substitutes for photoinduction. From these results it is concluded that dithionite and hydroxylamine are capable of reducing as yet unknown photooxidation products which are produced during illumination, as proposed by several authors. This oxidative action of light can be simulated by incubation of the mycelium with hydrogen peroxide.Furthermore results are presented which suggest that in Fusarium light acts in two ways: 1. it induces a de novo protein synthesis giving rise to an enhanced carotenoid production (light dependent synthesis) and 2. it inhibits a carotenoid synthesizing system (dark synthesis) which functions with low activity in the mycelium in the dark.     

Light Actions in the Germination of Cocklebur Seeds: III. EFFECTS OF PRE-TREATMENT TEMPERATURE ON GERMINATION RESPONSES TO FAR-RED LIGHT AND ON DARK GERMINATION IN THE RED LIGHT-REQUIRING UPPER SEEDS

Esashi, Y., Oota, H., Saitoh, H. and Kodama, H. 1985. Lightactions in the germination of cocklebur seeds. III. Effectsof pre-treatment temperature on germination responses to far-redlight and on dark germination in the red light-requiring upperseeds.—J. exp. Bot. 36: 1465-1477. Red light (R) responsiveness in R-requiring upper cocklebur(Xanthium pennsylvanicum Wallr.) seeds changed in differentpatterns during a soaking period at different temperatures.At temperatures above 23°C, the responsiveness increasedand then decreased. At lower temperatures (3–18°C),however, it continued to increase throughout an experimentalperiod. The lower temperatures caused germination in the subsequentdark at 33°C, regained the R responsiveness and acquiredthe dark germinability when subsequently exposed to 8°C,to an extent proportional to the duration of the chilling. Far-red (FR) was inhibitory to germination in an earlier soakingperiod at lower temperatures, but its effect gradually decresed,and finally turned promotive. The negative FR response was repeatedlycontrolled by the following R irradiation. However, the positiveFR response was enhanced by an immediate R irradiation, andFR/R reversibility occurred after the second FR. In contrastto the R responsiveness and dark germinability, the positivegermination response to FR was not induced by soaking at 3°C,in which the growth of the axial tissue as a photoreceptivesite did not occur at all. Similarly, it was not manifestedwhen the seeds soaked at 33°C were subsequently subjectedto 8°C. Key words: Cocklebur seeds, dark germination, far-red light, low temperature, red light, seed germination, Xanthium pennsylvanicum