The effect of a change in light quality on plastids of protonemata of Dryopteris borreri

Abstract

Transfer of young fern gametophyte cells from red to blue light causes an increase in the rate of thylakoid membrane production and the temporary appearance of prolamellar bodies (PLBs). These PLBs do not appear in constant red or blue light, or after the reciprocal transfer from blue to red when the rate of thylakoid production is reduced. The temporary accumulation of PLB material is interpreted as the result of a transient imbalance between the rates of sequential events in thylakoid production as the overall rate increases in response to blue light treatment. This is discussed in relation to relevant observations on Angiosperm chloroplasts.