Abstract
It is well known that the transformation of etioplasts into choloroplasts in higher plants is light dependent. This implicates an intimate interaction of both pigment and protein synthesis. Many plastidic membrane proteins are nucleus-encoded. One of the most prominent examples is the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein (LHCP). The mRNA encoding the apoprotein of LHCP can be induced by phytochrome [1]; however, other plastid derived factor(s), in addition to phytochrome, have been discussed to be required for the accumulation of LHCP mRNA [2]. The LHCP protein fails to accumulate under conditions where LHCP mRNA is present but chlorophyll (chl) is absent or decreased [3,4]. The synthesis of chl in higher plants requires light to photoconvert protochlorophyllide (pchlide) into chlorophyllide (chlide). The last step, the enzymatic esterification to chl is light independent. The enzyme, chl synthetase, is located in the plastid [5]. Chl can also be synthesized from exogenous chlide after being infiltrated into etiolated oat leaves in darkness [6]. We took advantage of this technique in order to supply chl in the dark and thus, study the accumulation of LHCP mRNA independently from chl synthesis.
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