Polar lipid pool modification in leaves of hoary plantain (Plantago media L.) plants during their light adaptation under natural conditions

Polar glycerolipids and photosynthetic pigments of Plantago media L. plants, growing on limestone outcrops of the Southern Timan, have been studied. Leaves of plants growing on well insolated and heated slopes are characterized by an intensive lipoperoxidation; the accumulation of chlorophylls and carotenoids in these plants is 1.5–2 times less and the content of polar lipids is 15–20% less than in plants growing in dense grass at the bottom of slopes. The accumulation of some classes of glycerolipids in leaves in the daytime provides for stabilization of photosystem complexes and the formation of the pool of zeaxanthin, a protective xanthophyll. Changes in the content and ratio of lipids represent an important part of the adaptive reorganizations of the photosynthetic apparatus caused by excess radiation under natural conditions.