Chilling sensitivity of cucumber cotyledon protoplasts and seedlings

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings are more sensitive to chilling stress when transferred to low temperature from the night cycle than from the day cycle. However, greater damage occurs when chilling is carried out in light than in dark. Freshly isolated protoplasts are extremely sensitive to damage when chilled at 4°C in light, but suffer significantly less injury when chilled in dark. If freshly isolated protoplasts are pre-chill conditioned at 27°C in either light or dark for a few hours prior to exposure to various chilling stresses, subsequent chilling damage is markedly reduced. Damage to chilled protoplasts also is reduced if cultures are placed in dark instead of light immediately following removal from low temperature. Experiments utilizing the cell wall synthesis inhibitor, dichlorobenzonitrile, showed that cell wall regeneration during the pre-chill conditioning period at 27°C does not appear to be associated with the enhanced chilling tolerance observed in these cultures. The results obtained in this investigation suggest that the physiological properties of cucumber cotyledon protoplasts accurately reflect those of intact seedlings, and hence provide a good system for studies into the mechanism of chilling damage in plants.     

Evolutionary transfer of ORF-containing group I introns between different subcellular compartments (chloroplast and mitochondrion)

We describe here a case of homologous introns containing homologous open reading frames (ORFs) that are inserted at the same site in the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene of different organelles in distantly related organisms. We show that the chloroplast LSU rRNA gene of the green alga Chlamydomonas pallidostigmatica contains a group I intron (CpLSU.2) encoding a site-specific endonuclease (I-CpaI). This intron is inserted at the identical site (corresponding to position 1931-1932 of the Escherichia coli 23S rRNA sequence) as a group I intron (AcLSU.m1) in the mitochondrial LSU rRNA gene of the amoeboid protozoon Acanthamoeba castellanii. The CpLSU.2 intron displays a remarkable degree of nucleotide similarity in both primary sequence and secondary structure to the AcLSU.m1 intron; moreover, the Acanthamoeba intron contains an ORF in the same location within its secondary structure as the CpLSU.2 ORF and shares with it a strikingly high level of amino acid similarity (65%; 42% identity). A comprehensive survey of intron distribution at site 1931 of the chloroplast LSU rRNA gene reveals a rather restricted occurrence within the polyphyletic genus Chlamydomonas, with no evidence of this intron among a number of non- Chlamydomonad green algae surveyed, nor in land plants. A parallel survey of homologues of a previously described and similar intron/ORF pair (C. reinhardtii chloroplast CrLSU/A. castellanii mitochondrial AcLSU.m3) also shows a restricted occurrence of this intron (site 2593) among chloroplasts, although the intron distribution is somewhat broader than that observed at site 1931, with site-2593 introns appearing in several green algal branches outside of the Chlamydomonas lineage. The available data, while not definitive, are most consistent with a relatively recent horizontal transfer of both site-1931 and site- 2593 introns (and their contained ORFs) between the chloroplast of a Chlamydomonas-type organism and the mitochondrion of an Acanthamoeba- like organism, probably in the direction chloroplast to mitochondrion. The data also suggest that both introns could have been acquired in a single event.      

Ultrastructural Changes during Swelling and Contraction of Mitochondria from Cold-hardened and Non-hardened Winter Wheat

Mitochondria isolated from both 2 and 24 C grown winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) undergo spontaneous swelling in isomolar KCI solutions, but only 24 C mitochondria exhibit a substrate-induced contraction response. Electron microscopic examination revealed that 24 C mitochondria have more clearly defined cristae, less matrix material, and are generally more electron-dense than 2 C mitochondria. During swelling, the matrix material of both 2 and 24 C mitochondria expands and the mitochondria become less electron-dense. After partial swelling, 24 C mitochondria contract upon addition of succinate, and regain structural characteristics similar to those of untreated mitochondria. In contrast, mitochondria from 2 C seedlings continue to swell after addition of substrate, and many of the mitochondria become irregular in shape and lose much of their matrix material. A comparison of results obtained from absorbancy measurements, electron microscopy, and a Coulter Counter indicate that swelling and contraction involve changes both in over-all volume, and internal structural characteristics of mitochondria from 2 and 24 C grown seedlings. Electron microscopic examination of shoot cells showed that mitochondria in 24 C grown seedlings possessed more recognizable cristae and greater internal organization than mitochondria in 2 C seedlings.     

Mitochondrial Activity and Ethanol Accumulation in Ice-encased Winter Cereal Seedlings

Cold-hardened dark-grown seedlings of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and winter rye (Secale cereale L.) are killed during total encasement in ice at −1 C at a rate related to the initial cold hardiness of the cultivars. Few plants remain alive after 7 days of encasement. Nonhardened seedlings are rapidly killed in ice. The respiratory properties of mitochondria isolated from plants after increasing periods of ice encasement decline slowly, and activity is little impaired when intact plants are about 50% killed. Electron microscopy indicates that mitochondrial structure is not disrupted until 3 weeks of ice encasement. Ethanol accumulates in hardened and nonhardened plants in ice, but at levels which are not toxic to the plants.     

Ultrastructural and Enzymic Studies of Cell Membranes from Ice-encased and Noniced Winter Wheat Seedlings

A marked increase in the amount of cisternal-like cytoplasmic membranes was observed after ice encasement of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings. Linear sucrose gradients were employed to separate the various membrane components of the microsomal membrane fraction. NADH- and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, two specific enzyme markers for plant endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were used to locate the ER in the linear gradients. The identity of the ER fraction was confirmed by determining the effect of EDTA and Mg²⁺ in the preparative media on the distribution of NADH- and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity within the gradient. In the presence of EDTA which dissociates ribosomes from ER, peaks of activity for the two enzymes were observed at a density corresponding to that for “smooth” ER. When the media also contained an appropriate concentration of Mg²⁺ to maintain the attachment of ribosomes to the ER, the peaks of activity for the enzymes shifted to a density corresponding to that for “rough” ER. NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity was similar for 24 C-grown and 2 C-grown iced seedlings, but significantly lower for 2 C noniced seedlings. No preferential increase in uptake of radioactive leucine or choline in the ER was observed during ice encasement. The accumulation of electron microscopically visible membrane arrays was not inhibited by the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors at concentrations which severely inhibited incorporation of [1-¹⁴C]leucine into membrane protein, but did not affect survival and growth of the seedlings. These observations indicate that the apparent proliferation of ER during ice encasement does not result from net membrane synthesis, but rather from reorganization of existing membrane elements within the cell.     

A Biochemical Study of Spore Germination in the Blue-green Alga Anabaena doliolum

The spores of Anabaena doliolum formed in light (light spores)and after transfer to darkness (dark spores) are biochemicallydifferent in that the light spores contain chlorophyll a andphycocyanin, while dark spores seem to lack them. The apparentbiosyntheses accompanying dark-spore germination seem to proceedin the following order: RNA, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin andDNA. Results of chloramphenicol treatment indicate that proteinsynthesis precedes RNA synthesis. The biosynthetic events followingRNA synthesis show a requirement for light.     

Structural and functional responses of wheat mitochondrial membranes to growth at low temperatures

The responses in membrane lipid composition, structure, and function of four cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to growth at low temperature have been investigated. Marked growth temperature-dependent alterations in the fatty acid composition and unsaturation of the mitochondrial phospholipids correlate with changes in respiratory activity in all the varieties. Parameters such as the respiratory control ratio and the phosphorylative efficiency decrease in cold-adapted seedlings. Three temperature-dependent structural transitions were identified in the mitochondria by the spin-labeling method. The structural transitions occur at lower temperatures in the cold-grown material. The shift in one transition appears to be quantitatively greater in the winter hardy varieties. Cold-induced changes in all of the other measured parameters were indistinguishable in hardy and nonhardy varieties. The results indicate major involvement of the phospholipid matrix in cold acclimation. A link between cold acclimation and winter survival may exist involving the structural and functional modifications in membrane structure which occur during acclimation.     

Studies on the respiratory properties of mitochondria isolated from developing winter wheat seedlings

Mitochondria isolated from shoots of 2 days, light- and dark-grown winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Rideau) seedlings oxidize alpha-ketoglutarate and l-malate with good respiratory control and ADP: O ratios. The efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation, and respiratory control are both reduced significantly when succinate or NADH is employed as substrate. Respiratory control values and ADP: O ratios show a general decline in mitochondria from seedlings of increasing age, whether grown in light or dark. In light-grown seedlings, the decrease in respiratory control with aging is due principally to a decrease in the rate of state 3 respiration, while in dark-grown material, the decrease appears to be due mainly to an increased rate of state 4 respiration. In both light- and dark-grown seedlings, oxygen consumption during state 3 respiration is severely inhibited by oligomycin. During state 4 respiration, 2,4-dinitrophenol stimulates oxygen uptake to a level approximately two-thirds the normal ADP-stimulated rate.