Abstract
Using measurements of the kinetics of chlorophyll a fluorescence emission, we have investigated the development of the photosynthetic membrane during etioplast-to-chloroplast differentiation. The chlorophyll fluorescence decay kinetics of pea chloroplasts from plants grown under intermittent (2 min light-118 min dark) and continuous light regimes were monitored with a single-photon timing system with picosecond resolution. We have associated the changes in the fluorescence yields and decay kinetics with known structural and organizational developmental phenomena in the chloroplast. This correlation provides a more detailed assignment of the origins of the fluorescence decay components than has been previously obtained by studying only mature chloroplasts. In particular, our analysis of the variable kinetics and multiexponential character of the fluorescence emission during thylakoid development focuses on the organization of photosynthetic units and the degree of communication between reaction centers in the same photosystem. Our results further demonstrate that the age of etiolated tissue is critical to plastid development.
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Schedule a callMore From: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics
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