Expression of the Major Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b-Protein and Its Import into Thylakoids of Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Chloroplasts of Maize

Distribution of the major light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein (LHCII) and its mRNA within bundle sheath and mesophyll cells of maize (Zea mays L.) was studied using in situ immunolocalization and hybridization, respectively. In situ hybridization with specific LHCII RNA probes from maize and Lemna gibba definitively shows the presence of high levels of mRNA for LHCII in both bundle sheath cells and mesophyll cells. In situ immuno-localization studies, using an LHCII monoclonal antibody, demonstrate the presence of LHCII polypeptides in chloroplasts of both cell types. The polypeptide composition of LHCII and the amount of LHCII in bundle sheath cells are different from those in mesophyll cells. Both mesophyll and bundle sheath chloroplasts can take up, import and process the in vitro transcribed and translated LHCII precursor protein from L. gibba. Although bundle sheath chloroplasts incorporate LHCII into the pigmented light-harvesting complex, the efficiency is lower than that in mesophyll chloroplasts.