Premium
EXCITATION OF CHLOROPLASTS IN Euglena gracilis IN THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT
Author(s) -
MELLO MARICILDA P.,
NASCIMENTO ANA LUCIA T. O.,
Bohne Cornelia,
CILENTO GIUSEPPE
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
photochemistry and photobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.818
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1751-1097
pISSN - 0031-8655
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-1097.1988.tb02751.x
Subject(s) - euglena gracilis , chloroplast , phenylacetaldehyde , photochemistry , lipid peroxidation , chemistry , euglena , benzaldehyde , biochemistry , catalysis , antioxidant , gene
— Challenging Euglena gracilis —a unicellular microorganism that contains chloroplasts—with phenylacetaldehyde induces malondialdehyde formation, sustained red emission and Hill activity. In chloroplasts, phenylacetaldehyde appears to undergo peroxidase catalyzed oxidation to formic acid and triplet benzaldehyde; the latter or, less likely, a precursor thereof promotes lipid peroxidation. Triplet benzaldehyde and/or the excited species formed in lipid peroxidation transfer energy to the chlorophylls. This explanation also applies to spinach chloroplasts preparations, thus accounting for the previous unexplained observation that phenylacetaldehyde induced sustained red emission and Hill activity. A homogeneous picture is now available regarding the intracellular generation of excited states and concomitant excitation of built‐in structures.