Etiolation symptoms in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cotyledons partially covered by the pericarp of the achene.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Etiolation symptoms and the greening process are usually studied on dark-germinated seedlings and this raises the question--can these results be generalized for plants growing under field conditions? This work examines various aspects of the plastid differentiation under the covering of the achene wall, which often remains attached to the cotyledons of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seedlings grown under light. METHODS Cotyledons of 7- to 10-d-old sunflower seedlings grown in the dark and on light were examined. The partially covered cotyledons were sectioned into light-exposed, covered and transition zones. Pigment contents, 77 K fluorescence spectroscopy, electron microscopy and fluorescence imaging, along with fluorescence kinetic methods, were used. KEY RESULTS The light-exposed zone of the partially covered cotyledons was similar to cotyledons developed without achene covering. However, some of the plastids had prolamellar bodies among the granal thylakoid membranes; despite this no protochlorophyllide was detected. The fully covered, yellowish sections contained protochlorophyllide forms emitting at 633 and 655 nm and well-developed prolamellar bodies, similar to those of etiolated cotyledons. In addition, reduced amounts of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and stacked thylakoid membrane pairs were found in this region. The transitional sections showed a mixture of the characteristics of the covered and exposed sections. Various, but significantly different values of the photosynthetic activity parameters were found in each sector of the partially covered cotyledons. CONCLUSIONS The partial covering of the achene wall shades the cotyledon tissues effectively, enough to provoke the appearance of etiolation phenomena, i.e. the permanent presence of flash-photoactive protochlorophyllide complexes and prolamellar bodies (with or without protochlorophyllide), which proves that these phenomena may appear under natural illumination conditions.