Light-Induced Chloroplast Differentiation in Soybean Cells in Suspension Culture

Suspension cultures of SB-P cells of soybean (Glycine max) provide a novel, reproducible, and readily manipulable greening system useful for inducing chloroplast differentiation. The cells are subcultured and grown heterotrophically (3% sucrose) in the dark for at least three successive 14-day periods, subcultured and grown in the dark for 7 days more, and finally placed under white light and grown photoautotrophically. Chlorophyll begins to accumulate by 1 hour of light and continues up to 12 days. The chlorophyll a:chlorophyll b ratio is 3:1. Dark-grown cells contain a small amount of total carotenoids which increase 10-fold during greening. Chloroplast differentiation is strictly light dependent, with photosynthetic pigments accumulating in the light and being lost from cells returned to the dark. In the dark, the chloroplasts dedifferentiate to amyloplasts as the organized thylakoid network is lost and starch accumulates. Under continuous light, the amyloplasts differentiate into mature chloroplasts as the organelle elongates, becomes spanned by several bands of thylakoids, and undergoes grana formation. Chloroplast differentiation in SB-P cells is similar to that in intact angiosperms developing under normal light-dark cycles.