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...

Chlorophyll-protein complexes and electron transport activities were measured during iron nutrition-mediated chloroplast development in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. cv F58-554H1). Results showed that the chlorophyll-protein complexes associated with the reaction centers of photosystem I (CP1) and photosystem II (CPa) and the electron transport activities of these two photosystems per leaf area ...

Liposomes (lipid, DL-a-dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine) containing chlorophyll a (ratio lipid to chlorophyll 30:1) exhibit an absorption maximum at 670 nm. Upon oxidation with iodine these liposomes yield a chlorophyll radical that shows a ESR signal with a line width (peak to peak) A Y = ~0.1 G and a g-value of 2.0022, consistent with the presence of monomeric chlorophyll. Under anaerobic cond...

Although the loss of green color in senescent leaves and ripening fruits is a spectacular natural phenomenon, research on chlorophyll breakdown has been largely neglected until recently. This review summarizes knowledge about the fate of chlorophyll in degreening tissues that has been gained during the past few years. Structures of end- and intermediary products of degradation as well as the bi...

Chlorophyll b is an ubiquitous accessory pigment in land plants, green algae, and prochlorophytes. Its biosynthesis plays a key role in the adaptation to various light environments. We isolated six chlorophyll b-less mutants by insertional mutagenesis by using the nitrate reductase or argininosuccinate lyase genes as tags and examined the rearrangement of mutant genomes. We found that an overla...

This study reveals by in vivo deuterium labeling that in higher plants chlorophyll (Chl) b is converted to Chl a before degradation. For this purpose, de-greening of excised green primary leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare) was induced by permanent darkness in the presence of heavy water (80 atom % (2)H). The resulting Chl a catabolite in the plant extract was subjected to chemical degradation b...

and an increased chlorophyll b to chlorophyll a ratio for better light capture in low light. Furthermore, an Ostreobium strain living in a coral skeleton, where nearly all of the red light has been captured by the zooxanthellae in the coral tissue, has been shown to have modified chlorophyll with a spectrum shifted towards far-red wavelengths. As zooxanthellae cannot use far-red light, more of ...

Chlorophyll fluorescence and hyperspectral reflectance were used to evaluate physiological responses to two common stressors in coastal environments. Chlorophyll content is one indicator of drought and salinity vegetation stress because of its direct role in the photosynthetic process and electron transport. Recent advances in fluorescence spectroscopy have led to the development of numerous re...