Two Sweetclover (Melilotus alba Desr.) Mutants Temperature Sensitive for Chlorophyll Expression

A Temperature-Sensitive Chlorophyll b-Deficient Mutant of Sweetclover (Melilotus alba).

The ch4 mutant of sweetclover (Melilotus alba) has previously been demonstrated to be partially deficient in chlorophyll and to have a higher ratio of chlorophyll a to b than normal plants. We were able to substantiate these findings when plants were grown at 23 degrees C and lower (permissive temperatures). However, when grown at 26 degrees C (nonpermissive temperature) the plants produced sma...

A Temperature-Sensitive Chlorophyll β-Deficient Mutant of Sweetclover (Melilotus alba)

Chlorophyll Expression Varies with Development State in the Temperature-Sensitive ch4 Mutation of Melilotus alba.

The ch4 mutant of sweetclover (Melilotus alba) has previously been demonstrated to be temperature- and photoperiod-sensitive for the accumulation of chlorophyll. Pigment content of ch4 mutant leaves was examined as a function of trifoliolate mass, an index of leaf development. Inhibition of chlorophyll accumulation caused by increased growth temperature or decreased photoperiod can be attenuate...

Mutants of Sweetclover (Melilotus alba) Lacking Chlorophyll b: Studies on Pigment-Protein Complexes and Thylakoid Protein Phosphorylation.

Mutants of sweetclover (Melilotus alba) with defects in the nuclear ch5 locus were examined. Using thin-layer chromatography and absorption spectroscopy, three of these mutants were found to lack chlorophyll (Chl) b. One of these three mutants, U374, possessed thylakoid membranes lacking the three Chl b-containing pigment-protein complexes (AB-1, AB-2, and AB-3) while still containing A-1 and A...

Genetic Studies of Induced Mutants in Melilotus alba. II. Inheritance and Complementation of Chlorophyll-deficient Mutants

Six ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutants of Melilotus alba Desr. were studied. Five of the mutants behaved as monogenic recessives. In the sixth mutant, two independent recessive alleles were responsible for the observed phenotype. Of these two genes, one had a phenotypic effect similar to the five single-gene mutants. The other (the veined gene) caused a chlorophyll deficiency in which the l...