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An alternative strategy of dismantling of the chloroplasts during leaf senescence observed in a high‐yield variety of barley
Author(s) -
Krupinska Karin,
Mulisch Maria,
Hollmann Julien,
Tokarz Krzysztof,
Zschiesche Wiebke,
Kage Henning,
Humbeck Klaus,
Bilger Wolfgang
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.2011.01545.x
Subject(s) - senescence , chloroplast , hordeum vulgare , thylakoid , photosystem , photosynthesis , biology , photoinhibition , chlorophyll , photosystem ii , p700 , chlorophyll fluorescence , botany , absorbance , chlorophyll a , photosystem i , chemistry , poaceae , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatography , gene
Changes in function and composition of the photosynthetic apparatus as well as the ultrastructure of chloroplasts in mesophyll cells were analyzed in flag leaves of the high‐yield barley ( Hordeum vulgare ) variety cv. Lomerit during senescence under field conditions in two successive years. In contrast to previous results obtained with the elder variety cv. Carina photosystem II efficiency measured by F v /F m was found to be rather stable until a very late stage of senescence. Chlorophyll a fluorescence and P700 absorbance measurements revealed that the activities of the two photosystems declined in parallel. An increase in the chlorophyll a/b ratio at a late stage of senescence was observed to coincide with a decline in the level of the Lhcb1 apoprotein of the light harvesting complex (LHC) and the level of the corresponding transcript. Ultrastructural investigations revealed the presence of gerontoplasts that have long, single or pairwise thylakoids and lack large grana stacks. It is hypothesized that the early degradation of grana thylakoids harboring the major LHC reduced the risk of photoinhibition and might be causally related to the high yield of the barley variety cv. Lomerit.