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A comparative study of low‐temperature‐induced ultrastructural alterations of three species with differing chilling sensitivities
Author(s) -
WISE ROBERT R.,
McWILLIAM J. R.,
NAYLOR AUBREY W.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3040.1983.tb01165.x
Subject(s) - thylakoid , chloroplast , ultrastructure , botany , granule (geology) , chemistry , horticulture , biology , biophysics , biochemistry , paleontology , gene
. The effects of light and water stress upon chilling injury of chloroplasts have been assessed by electron microscopy in seedlings of three species known to differ in their chilling susceptibility. Chilling injury to chloroplasts was first manifested by distortion and swelling of thylakoids, reduction in starch granule size, and the formation of small vesicles of the envelope, called the peripheral reticulum. More prolonged treatment produced accumulations of lipid droplets, increased staining of the stroma, disintegration of the envelope, and mixing with cytoplasmic contents. Cotton, a notably chilling‐sensitive plant, and bush bean, a somewhat less sensitive plant, showed damage within 6 h when exposed to both light and water stress at chilling temperatures (5°C). Even collard, a chilling‐resistant species, exhibited signs of chilling injury to chloroplasts after 6 h when exposed to both light and water stress but the plastids remained intact throughout the 48 h of treatment. Comparable chilling injury does not occur in cotton until around 72 h if the plants are exposed to water stress or light separately. Bush bean was affected less by separate treatments of light and water stress. The least chilling injury occurred in all three species when they were kept in the dark at a high humidity.