• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 1993

In Tris-iso-butanol (TIB; Tris buffer pH 8.8 and 1% iso-butanol)-treated chloroplasts, oxygen evolving activity was more inhibited than Tris-treated chloroplasts, but restored highly by 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol (DCPIP) and photoreactivation. To understand the mechanism of this results of TIB in photosynthetic electron transport, system, oxygen consumption and evolution of PS I and PS II were measured and protein of the chloroplasts was analysed. In Tris- and TIB-treated chloroplasts, oxygen evolving activity was increased according to the light intensity. Under 48 W·m-2 light intensity, the oxygen evolving activity in both chloroplasts were similar but as the light intensity was increased, TIB-treated chloroplasts showed higher activity. Under 240 W·m-2 light intensity, TIB-treated chloroplasts showed about 25% higher oxygen evolving activity than Tris-treated chloroplasts. Oxygen evolving activity was increased after photoreactivation in both Tris-treated and TIB-treated chloroplasts. Addition of NH4Cl increased the activity in both chloroplasts but in TIB-treated chloroplasts the increase was 30% higher than that in Tris-treated chloroplasts. In PS I, oxygen evolving activity was not inhibited by both treatments whereas in PS II, significant difference was observed between two treatments. Addition of Mn2+ and Ca2+ enhanced oxygen evolution in both Tris- and TIB-treated chloroplasts. Though enhancement was higher in TIB-treated chloroplasts. No difference was observed n protein analysis of the two thylakoid membrane.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.326-328
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• 2002

In many plant cells, the positions of chloroplasts change in response to changes in light conditions. In the epidermal cells of the aquatic angiosperm Vallisneria gigantea, the avoidance response of chloroplasts is induced specifically by irradiation with blue light of high intensity. Possible roles of actin cytoskeleton in the blue-light-induced avoidance response of chloroplasts were investigated by partial irradiation and phalloidin staining. We showed that the blue-light-dependent redistribution of chloroplasts was induced only in the limited area, where exposed to blue light, even in individual cells. In addition. in the exposed area, the configuration of actin filaments strikingly changed compared with that before the irradiation. Short and thick bundles of actin filaments surrounding the chloroplasts changed to much longer and thinner bundles with a more stretched array. In contrast, in the unexposed area, neither the distribution of chloroplasts nor the configuration of actin filaments exhibited any changes. Cytochalasin D and latrunculin B inhibited the avoidance response of chloroplasts concomitantly with the fragmentation of actin filaments. These results indicate that the reorganization of actin filaments plays a crucial role in the induction of avoidance response of chloroplasts.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 1999

Chlorophasts are a central structural feature of stomatal guard cells. Guard cell chloroplasts have both photosystems I and II (PS I and II), carry out O2 evoluation , cyclic and noncyclic photophosporylation, and possess the Calvin-Benson cycle enzymes involved in CO2 fixation. These imply that guard cell chloroplasts have a normal photosynthetic carbon reduction pathway just like their mesophyll counterparts, indicating similar fuctional organization of thylakoid membranes in both types of mesophyll and guard cell chloroplasts. It has been, however, found that guard cell chloroplasts have distinctive and comparative properties in their photosynthetic performance. In this article, I review the intrinsic features on the light reaction of and carbon reduction by guard cell chloroplasts.

• ALGAE
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.291-301
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• 2015

The present study described with different microscopy approaches chloroplasts lobes in Laurencia sensu latu (Rhodophyta) species and found inter-specific differences among them. Chloroplasts were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy (LSM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). Using and TEM and HRSEM images we distinguished chloroplasts with lobes than chloroplasts without lobes in Yuzurua poiteaui var. gemmifera (Harvey) M. J. Wynne and Laurencia dendroidea J. Agardh cortical cells. The LSM images showed chloroplasts lobes (CLs) with different morphologies, varying from thicker and longer undulated projections in Y. poiteaui var. and L. dendroidea to very small and thin tubules as in Laurencia translucida Fujii & Cordeiro-Marino. The diameter and length of CLs from Y. poiteaui var. and L. dendroidea were significantly higher than L. translucida CLs (p < 0.01). Based on LSM observations, we suggest that lobes morphology has a taxonomic validity only to characterize L. translucida species.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.215-221
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• 1991

Photoxynthetic properties of polyvinylalcohol (PVA)-immobilized chloroplast especially regarded to stability of photosynthetic electron transport and the fluorescence induction pattern were studied. When isolated spinach chloroplasts were immobilized with PVA, it showed good preservation of photosynthetic electron transport activity, especially PS II activity, during storage at -15$^{\circ}C$, 4$^{\circ}C$ and 2$0^{\circ}C$. And immobilized chloroplasts revealed similar thermostability of whole chain electron transport to free chloroplsts. And the absorption peak of red band of chloroplasts showed the blue-shift of 2-4 nm after immobilization. Fv/Fm ratio of chlorophyll fluorescence slightly decreased after immobilization. White light pulse after continuous light do not induced the additional fluorescence rise. This means chlorophyll fluorescence at room temperature reached to Fmax under continuous light in the immobilized chloroplasts. It seems that PVA may be a good candidate for immobilization matrix for the preservation of photosynthetic function of thylakoids and for the continuous use of chloroplast membranes of higher plants for solar energy storage and conversion.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 1990

In order to characterize the chloroplasts of Korean ginseng as a semi-shade plant and radish as a sun plant, effects of growth light intensity on photosynthetic electron transport (PS) activity in chloroplasts and superoxide (O2.-) production in thylakoid membrane by irradiation were investigated. High-light chloroplasts of both plants showed higher PS activities than those grown under ow growth light intensity. High PS II and low PS I activities in ginseng chloroplasts (ratio of PS II/PS I : 1.1) were observed, but radish chloroplasts showed low PS II and high PS I activities (ratio of PS II/PS I : 0.3). PS II activity of both plants was little affected by temperature in range of 15-35$^{\circ}C$. Activities of whole -chain (PS II+I) in ginseng and PS I in radish were increased at high temperature (4$0^{\circ}C$). Preincubation of chloroplasts at 4$0^{\circ}C$ during 30 min, as a mild heat stress, caused rapid decrease in PS II and PS II+I activities of both plants. However PS I activity was not decreased in ginseng and rather increased in radish. O2.- production (NBT reduction) in Mehler reaction in the thylakoid membrane was inhibited by DCMU in both plants. DMBIB inhibited O2.- production in ginseng, but radish was insensitive to DMBIB. Electron flow system in ginseng thylakoid membrane was more susceptible to damage of photooxidation than that of radish.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.271-275
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• 2007

In the chloroplast transformation process, a chloroplast containing transformed chloroplast genome copies should be selected over wild-type chloroplasts on selection medium. It is more effective for a cell to become homoplasmic if the cell contains smaller number of chloroplasts. Therefore, to reduce the number of chloroplasts in mesophyll cells in tobacco, we overexpressed FtsZ to generate transgenic plants, of which mesophyll cell contained a few enlarged chloroplasts contrast to a wild-type mesophyll cell containing approximately 100 chloroplasts. It was demonstrated that transgenic leaf tissues comprising cells with a few enlarged chloroplasts gave rise to approximately 40% higher frequency of chloroplast-transformed adventitious shoots.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1.1-11
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• 1992

To find heavy metal-specific effects on the photosynthetic apparatus of higher plants, we investigated effects of $CuCl_2$, HgCl_2$ and $ZnCl_2$ on electron transport activity and chlorophyll fluorescence induction kinetics of chloroplasts isolated from barley seedlings. Effects on some related processes such as germination, growth and photosynthetic pigments of the test plants were also studied. Germination and growth rate were inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by these metals. Mercury was shown to be the most potent inhibitor of germination, growth and biosynthesis of photosynthetic pigments of barley plants. In the inhibition of electron transport activity, quantum yield of PS II, and chlorophyll fluorescence induction kinetics of chloroplasts isolated from barley seedlings, mercury chloride showed more pronounced effects than other two metals. Contrary to the effects of other two metals, mercury chloride increased variable fluorescence significantly and abolished qE in the fluorescence induction kinetics from broken chloroplasts of barley seedlings. This increase in variable fluorescence is due to the inhibition of the electron transport chain after PS ll and the following dark reactions. The inhibition of qE could be attributed to the interruption of pH formation and do-epoxidation of violaxathin to zeaxanthin in thylakoids by mercury. This unique effect of mercury on chlorophyll fluorescence induction pattern could be used as a good indicator for testing the presence and/or the concentration of mercury in the samples contaminated with heavy metals.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 1993

Photoproduction of hydrogen by free and polyvinylalcohol (PVA)-immobilized spinach chloroplasts was investigated. Immobilization of chloroplast with PVA increased the functional stability of the chloroplast during storage. PVA-immobilized chloroplasts preserved photosynthetic electron transport activity much better than free chloroplasts. The hydrogen production of free chloroplast decreased to 17% of initial activity after storage of six days. The hydrogen production of the PVA-immobilized chloroplast, however, showed 44% of initial activity after storage of 15 days. The maximal rate of hydrogen production was accomplished at 2$^{\circ}C$ under the light intensity above 116 $\mu$E.m-2.s-1. The amount of hydrogen produced was proportional to the chlorophyll concentration. The hydrogen production was inhibited by DCMU treatment, indicating hydrogen production is dependent on photosynthetic electron transport. These results suggest that PVA is a good candidate for the immobilization matrix of chloroplasts for the photoproduction of hydrogen.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.217-226
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• 1988

Effects of simazine [2-chloro-4,6-bis(methylamino)-s-triazine] on the photochemical reactions of isolaed spinach chloroplasts and crude thylakoids of Anabaena inequalis UTEX B-381 were compared. Simazine inhibited photosynthetic O2 evolution and increased the chlorophyll fluorescence in whole cells of Anabaena. The electron transfer from diphenylcarbazide to 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol was inhibited by simazine treatment in spinach chloroplasts, but not in crude thylakoids of Anabaena. In spinach chloroplasts, the chlorophyll fluorescence was increased by simazine treatment in the presence of diphenylcarbazide and ferricyanide, but not in the presence of diphenylcarbazide and silicomolybdate. In crude thylakoids of Anabaena, simazine treatment did not increase the chlorophyll fluorescence in the presence of either diphenylcarbazide and silicomolybdate, or diphenylcarbazide and ferricyanide. There results suggest that the inhibitory site of simazine on photosynthetic electron transport chain of anabaena is different from that of spinach chloroplasts. And there may be a possiblity that the inhibition site of simazine in Anabaena lies on the donor side of photosystem II, before the site of electron donation by diphenylcarbazide.