Abstract
In this work, we present an ultrastructural and physiological description of a novel chlorophyll-deficient, yellow cell line of the grass Bouteloua gracilis that develops etioplast-like plastids in presence of light (YELP). These mutant cells were compared to the parental, wild-type, highly chlorophyllous cells from which they were isolated. Growth analysis, based on fresh and dry weights, indicated that YELP accumulates biomass at a slower rate than the parental, green cells. Besides, YELP developed very low levels of photosynthetic pigments, reaching only 9.3% and 38.4% of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, respectively, developed by the wild-type cells. Likewise, the accessory pigments, carotenes and xanthophylls, were only synthesized at 8.0% and 5.4%, respectively, of the levels reached by the green cells. Electron microscopy revealed remarkable differences in plastid ultrastructure between the wild-type and mutant cells. Plastids of YELP were heterogeneous and smaller than those found in wild-type cells. YELP plastids were abnormal with poorly developed membrane systems that prevented the accumulation of chlorophyll and accessory pigments in the mutant cell line. We expect this novel, mutant cell line will provide new tools for studying plastid development and differentiation.
Highlights
Chlorophyll is the dominant pigment in nature and one of the most abundant organic molecules on earth
Based on the results presented here, we suggest that the dual model, represents an excellent resource for the study of different molecular, biochemical, physiological processes of plants, including the study of chlorophyll synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, light photosynthetic reactions, and chloroplast structure and development, as well as the analysis of the chloroplast response to abiotic stress
The novel cell line described in this paper spontaneously appeared in our previously described chlorophyllic cell system
Summary
Chlorophyll is the dominant pigment in nature and one of the most abundant organic molecules on earth. Chlorophyll deficiency in photosynthetic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, algae and plants, is a common consequence of nuclear or plastomic mutations that occur spontaneously or can be artificially induced by chemical or physical agents [1]. These mutations are primarily identified by abnormal pigmentation patterns in the organisms carrying these genetic alterations and can be classified into two main groups. The first group comprises homogeneous, unicolor mutants, while the second one includes heterogeneous multicolor mutants. Viridis and xantha are included in the first group, while zonata, alboviridis, xanthalba, virido-albino, tigrina, striata, maculata and alboxantha are examples of multicolor mutants [2]
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