Mass Spectrometry Imaging for Spatial Chemical Profiling of Vegetative Parts of Plants

The detection of chemical species and understanding their respective localisations in tissues have important implications in plant science. The conventional methods for imaging spatial localisation of chemical species are often restricted by the number of species that can be identified and is mostly done in a targeted manner. Mass spectrometry imaging combines the ability of traditional mass spectrometry to detect numerous chemical species in a sample with their spatial localisation information by analysing the specimen in a 2D manner. This article details the popular mass spectrometry imaging methodologies which are widely pursued along with their respective sample preparation and the data analysis methods that are commonly used. We also review the advancements through the years in the usage of the technique for the spatial profiling of endogenous metabolites, detection of xenobiotic agrochemicals and disease detection in plants. As an actively pursued area of research, we also address the hurdles in the analysis of plant tissues, the future scopes and an integrated approach to analyse samples combining different mass spectrometry imaging methods to obtain the most information from a sample of interest.

Cytosolic fumarase acts as a metabolic fail-safe for both high and low temperature acclimation of Arabidopsis thaliana

Plants acclimate their photosynthetic capacity (Pmax) in response to changing environmental conditions. In Arabidopsis thaliana, photosynthetic acclimation to cold requires the accumulation of the organic acid fumarate, catalysed by a cytosolically localized fumarase, FUM2. However, the role of this accumulation is currently unknown. Here, we use an integrated experimental and modelling approach to examine the role of FUM2 and fumarate across the physiological temperature range. We have studied three genotypes: Col-0; a fum2 mutant in a Col-0 background; and C24, an accession with reduced FUM2 expression. While low temperature causes an increase in Pmax in the Col-0 plants, this parameter decreases following exposure of plants to 30 °C for 7 d. Plants in which fumarate accumulation is partially (C24) or completely (fum2) abolished show a reduced acclimation of Pmax across the physiological temperature range (i.e. Pmax changes less in response to changing temperature). To understand the role of fumarate accumulation, we have adapted a reliability engineering technique, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), to formalize a rigorous approach for ranking metabolites according to the potential risk that they pose to the metabolic system. FMEA identifies fumarate as a low-risk metabolite, while its precursor, malate, is shown to be high risk and liable to cause system instability. We propose that the role of FUM2 is to provide a fail-safe in order to control malate concentration, maintaining system stability in a changing environment. We suggest that FMEA is a technique that is not only useful in understanding plant metabolism but can also be used to study reliability in other systems and synthetic pathways.

A Holistic Approach to Study Photosynthetic Acclimation Responses of Plants to Fluctuating Light

Plants in natural environments receive light through sunflecks, the duration and distribution of these being highly variable across the day. Consequently, plants need to adjust their photosynthetic processes to avoid photoinhibition and maximize yield. Changes in the composition of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to sustained changes in the environment are referred to as photosynthetic acclimation, a process that involves changes in protein content and composition. Considering this definition, acclimation differs from regulation, which involves processes that alter the activity of individual proteins over short-time periods, without changing the abundance of those proteins. The interconnection and overlapping of the short- and long-term photosynthetic responses, which can occur simultaneously or/and sequentially over time, make the study of long-term acclimation to fluctuating light in plants challenging. In this review we identify short-term responses of plants to fluctuating light that could act as sensors and signals for acclimation responses, with the aim of understanding how plants integrate environmental fluctuations over time and tailor their responses accordingly. Mathematical modeling has the potential to integrate physiological processes over different timescales and to help disentangle short-term regulatory responses from long-term acclimation responses. We review existing mathematical modeling techniques for studying photosynthetic responses to fluctuating light and propose new methods for addressing the topic from a holistic point of view.

Acclimation of Photosynthesis to Changes in the Environment Results in Decreases of Oxidative Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana

The dynamic acclimation of photosynthesis plays an important role in increasing the fitness of a plant under variable light environments. Since acclimation is partially mediated by a glucose-6-phosphate/phosphate translocator 2 (GPT2), this study examined whether plants lacking GPT2, which consequently have defective acclimation to increases in light, are more susceptible to oxidative stress. To understand this mechanism, we used the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana [accession Wassilewskija-4 (Ws-4)] and compared it with mutants lacking GPT2. The plants were then grown at low light (LL) at 100 μmol m^-2 s^-1 for 7 weeks. For the acclimation experiments, a set of plants from LL was transferred to 400 μmol m^-2 s^-1 conditions for 7 days. Biochemical and physiological analyses showed that the gpt2 mutant plants had significantly greater activity for ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guiacol peroxidase (GPOX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Furthermore, the mutant plants had significantly lower maximum quantum yields of photosynthesis (Fv/Fm). A microarray analysis also showed that gpt2 plants exhibited a greater induction of stress-related genes relative to wild-type (WT) plants. We then concluded that photosynthetic acclimation to a higher intensity of light protects plants against oxidative stress.

Metabolic flux from the chloroplast provides signals controlling photosynthetic acclimation to cold in Arabidopsis thaliana

Photosynthesis is especially sensitive to environmental conditions, and the composition of the photosynthetic apparatus can be modulated in response to environmental change, a process termed photosynthetic acclimation. Previously, we identified a role for a cytosolic fumarase, FUM2 in acclimation to low temperature in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mutant lines lacking FUM2 were unable to acclimate their photosynthetic apparatus to cold. Here, using gas exchange measurements and metabolite assays of acclimating and non-acclimating plants, we show that acclimation to low temperature results in a change in the distribution of photosynthetically fixed carbon to different storage pools during the day. Proteomic analysis of wild-type Col-0 Arabidopsis and of a fum2 mutant, which was unable to acclimate to cold, indicates that extensive changes occurring in response to cold are affected in the mutant. Metabolic and proteomic data were used to parameterize metabolic models. Using an approach called flux sampling, we show how the relative export of triose phosphate and 3-phosphoglycerate provides a signal of the chloroplast redox state that could underlie photosynthetic acclimation to cold.

From empirical to theoretical models of light response curves - linking photosynthetic and metabolic acclimation

Light response curves (LRCs) describe how the rate of photosynthesis varies as a function of light. They provide information on the maximum photosynthetic capacity, quantum yield, light compensation point and leaf radiation use efficiency of leaves. Light response curves are widely used to capture photosynthetic phenotypes in response to changing environmental conditions. However, models describing these are predominantly empirical and do not attempt to explain behaviour at a mechanistic level. Here, we use modelling to understand the metabolic changes required for photosynthetic acclimation to changing environmental conditions. Using a simple kinetic model, we predicted LRCs across the physiological temperature range of Arabidopsis thaliana and confirm these using experimental data. We use our validated metabolic model to make novel predictions about the metabolic changes of temperature acclimation. We demonstrate that NADPH utilization are enhanced in warm-acclimated plants, whereas both NADPH and CO₂ utilization is enhanced in cold-acclimated plants. We demonstrate how different metabolic acclimation strategies may lead to the same photosynthetic response across environmental change. We further identify that certain metabolic acclimation strategies, such as NADPH utilization, are only triggered when plants are moved beyond a threshold high or low temperature.

Contrasting Responses to Stress Displayed by Tobacco Overexpressing an Algal Plastid Terminal Oxidase in the Chloroplast

The plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) - an interfacial diiron carboxylate protein found in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts - oxidizes plastoquinol and reduces molecular oxygen to water. It is believed to play a physiologically important role in the response of some plant species to light and salt (NaCl) stress by diverting excess electrons to oxygen thereby protecting photosystem II (PSII) from photodamage. PTOX is therefore a candidate for engineering stress tolerance in crop plants. Previously, we used chloroplast transformation technology to over express PTOX1 from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in tobacco (generating line Nt-PTOX-OE). Contrary to expectation, growth of Nt-PTOX-OE plants was more sensitive to light stress. Here we have examined in detail the effects of PTOX1 on photosynthesis in Nt-PTOX-OE tobacco plants grown at two different light intensities. Under 'low light' (50 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) conditions, Nt-PTOX-OE and WT plants showed similar photosynthetic activities. In contrast, under 'high light' (125 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) conditions, Nt-PTOX-OE showed less PSII activity than WT while photosystem I (PSI) activity was unaffected. Nt-PTOX-OE grown under high light also failed to increase the chlorophyll a/b ratio and the maximum rate of CO₂ assimilation compared to low-light grown plants, suggesting a defect in acclimation. In contrast, Nt-PTOX-OE plants showed much better germination, root length, and shoot biomass accumulation than WT when exposed to high levels of NaCl and showed better recovery and less chlorophyll bleaching after NaCl stress when grown hydroponically. Overall, our results strengthen the link between PTOX and the resistance of plants to salt stress.

Flux sampling is a powerful tool to study metabolism under changing environmental conditions

The development of high-throughput 'omic techniques has sparked a rising interest in genome-scale metabolic models, with applications ranging from disease diagnostics to crop adaptation. Efficient and accurate methods are required to analyze large metabolic networks. Flux sampling can be used to explore the feasible flux solutions in metabolic networks by generating probability distributions of steady-state reaction fluxes. Unlike other methods, flux sampling can be used without assuming a particular cellular objective. We have undertaken a rigorous comparison of several sampling algorithms and concluded that the coordinate hit-and-run with rounding (CHRR) algorithm is the most efficient based on both run-time and multiple convergence diagnostics. We demonstrate the power of CHRR by using it to study the metabolic changes that underlie photosynthetic acclimation to cold of Arabidopsis thaliana plant leaves. In combination with experimental measurements, we show how the regulated interplay between diurnal starch and organic acid accumulation defines the plant acclimation process. We confirm fumarate accumulation as a requirement for cold acclimation and further predict γ-aminobutyric acid to have a key role in metabolic signaling under cold conditions. These results demonstrate how flux sampling can be used to analyze the feasible flux solutions across changing environmental conditions, whereas eliminating the need to make assumptions which introduce observer bias.

Metabolic acclimation-a key to enhancing photosynthesis in changing environments?

Plants adjust their photosynthetic capacity in response to their environment in a way that optimizes their yield and fitness. There is growing evidence that this acclimation is a response to changes in the leaf metabolome, but the extent to which these are linked and how this is optimized remain poorly understood. Using as an example the metabolic perturbations occurring in response to cold, we define the different stages required for acclimation, discuss the evidence for a metabolic temperature sensor, and suggest further work towards designing climate-smart crops. In particular, we discuss how constraint-based and kinetic metabolic modelling approaches can be used to generate targeted hypotheses about relevant pathways, and argue that a stronger integration of experimental and in silico studies will help us to understand the tightly regulated interplay of carbon partitioning and resource allocation required for photosynthetic acclimation to different environmental conditions.

Drought neutralises plant-soil feedback of two mesic grassland forbs

Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) describe the effect of a plant species on soil properties, which affect the performance of future generations. Here we test the hypothesis that drought alters PSFs by reducing plant-microbe associations and nutrient uptake. We chose two grassland forb species, previously shown to respond differently to soil conditioning and drought, to test our hypothesis. We conditioned unsterilised grassland soil with one generation of each species, and left a third soil unconditioned. We grew a second generation consisting of each combination of plant species, soil, and drought in a full factorial design, and measured soil microbial community and nutrient availability. Scabiosa columbaria displayed negative PSF (smaller plants) under non-droughted conditions, but neutral under drought, suggesting that drought disrupts plant-soil interactions and can advantage the plant. Photosynthetic efficiency of S. columbaria was reduced under drought, but recovered on rewetting regardless of soil conditioning, indicating that PSFs do not impede resilience of this species. Sanguisorba minor showed positive PSFs (larger plants), probably due to an increase in soil N in conspecific soil, but neutral PSF under drought. PSF neutralisation appeared to occur through drought-induced change in the soil microbial community for this species. When S. minor was planted in conspecific soil, photosynthetic efficiency declined to almost zero, with no recovery following rewetting. We attributed this to increased demand for water through higher demand for nutrients with positive PSF. Here we show that drought neutralises PSFs of two grassland forbs, which could have implications for plant communities under climate change.

Dissecting the Native Architecture and Dynamics of Cyanobacterial Photosynthetic Machinery

The structural dynamics and flexibility of cell membranes play fundamental roles in the functions of the cells, i.e., signaling, energy transduction, and physiological adaptation. The cyanobacterial thylakoid membrane represents a model membrane that can conduct both oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration simultaneously. In this study, we conducted direct visualization of the global organization and mobility of photosynthetic complexes in thylakoid membranes from a model cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, using high-resolution atomic force, confocal, and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. We visualized the native arrangement and dense packing of photosystem I (PSI), photosystem II (PSII), and cytochrome (Cyt) b₆f within thylakoid membranes at the molecular level. Furthermore, we functionally tagged PSI, PSII, Cyt b₆f, and ATP synthase individually with fluorescent proteins, and revealed the heterogeneous distribution of these four photosynthetic complexes and determined their dynamic features within the crowding membrane environment using live-cell fluorescence imaging. We characterized red light-induced clustering localization and adjustable diffusion of photosynthetic complexes in thylakoid membranes, representative of the reorganization of photosynthetic apparatus in response to environmental changes. Understanding the organization and dynamics of photosynthetic membranes is essential for rational design and construction of artificial photosynthetic systems to underpin bioenergy development. Knowledge of cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes could also be extended to other cell membranes, such as chloroplast and mitochondrial membranes.

Dynamic Acclimation to High Light in Arabidopsis thaliana Involves Widespread Reengineering of the Leaf Proteome

Leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana transferred from low to high light increase their capacity for photosynthesis, a process of dynamic acclimation. A mutant, gpt2, lacking a chloroplast glucose-6-phosphate/phosphate translocator, is deficient in its ability to acclimate to increased light. Here, we have used a label-free proteomics approach, to perform relative quantitation of 1993 proteins from Arabidopsis wild type and gpt2 leaves exposed to increased light. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD006598. Acclimation to light is shown to involve increases in electron transport and carbon metabolism but no change in the abundance of photosynthetic reaction centers. The gpt2 mutant shows a similar increase in total protein content to wild type but differences in the extent of change of certain proteins, including in the relative abundance of the cytochrome b6f complex and plastocyanin, the thylakoid ATPase and selected Benson-Calvin cycle enzymes. Changes in leaf metabolite content as plants acclimate can be explained by changes in the abundance of enzymes involved in metabolism, which were reduced in gpt2 in some cases. Plants of gpt2 invest more in stress-related proteins, suggesting that their reduced ability to acclimate photosynthetic capacity results in increased stress.

FUM2, a Cytosolic Fumarase, Is Essential for Acclimation to Low Temperature in Arabidopsis thaliana

Although cold acclimation is a key process in plants from temperate climates, the mechanisms sensing low temperature remain obscure. Here, we show that the accumulation of the organic acid fumaric acid, mediated by the cytosolic fumarase FUM2, is essential for cold acclimation of metabolism in the cold-tolerant model species Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). A nontargeted metabolomic approach, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, identifies fumarate as a key component of the cold response in this species. Plants of T-DNA insertion mutants, lacking FUM2, show marked differences in their response to cold, with contrasting responses both in terms of metabolite concentrations and gene expression. The fum2 plants accumulated higher concentrations of phosphorylated sugar intermediates and of starch and malate. Transcripts for proteins involved in photosynthesis were markedly down-regulated in fum2.2 but not in wild-type Columbia-0. Plants of fum2 show a complete loss of the ability to acclimate photosynthesis to low temperature. We conclude that fumarate accumulation plays an essential role in low temperature sensing in Arabidopsis, either indirectly modulating metabolic or redox signals or possibly being itself directly involved in cold sensing.

Cyclic electron flow: facts and hypotheses

Over the last 15 years, research into the process of cyclic electron flow in photosynthesis has seen a huge resurgence. Having been considered by some in the early 1990s as a physiologically unimportant artefact, it is now recognised as essential to normal plant growth. Here, we provide an overview of the major developments covered in this special issue of photosynthesis research.

Plastid Terminal Oxidase as a Route to Improving Plant Stress Tolerance: Known Knowns and Known Unknowns

A plastid-localized terminal oxidase, PTox, was first described due to its role in chloroplast development, with plants lacking PTox producing white sectors on their leaves. This phenotype is explained as being due to PTox playing a role in carotenoid biosynthesis, as a cofactor of phytoene desaturase. Co-occurrence of PTox with a chloroplast-localized NADPH dehydrogenase (NDH) has suggested the possibility of a functional respiratory pathway in plastids. Evidence has also been found that, in certain stress-tolerant plant species, PTox can act as an electron acceptor from PSII, making it a candidate for engineering stress-tolerant crops. However, attempts to induce such a pathway via overexpression of the PTox protein have failed to date. Here we review the current understanding of PTox function in higher plants and discuss possible barriers to inducing PTox activity to improve stress tolerance.

Biochemical Analyses of Sorghum Varieties Reveal Differential Responses to Drought

We have examined the biochemical responses of two sorghum cultivars of differing drought tolerance, Samsorg 17 (more drought tolerant) and Samsorg 40 (less drought tolerant), to sustained drought. Plants were exposed to different degrees of drought and then maintained at that level for five days. Responses were examined in terms of metabolic changes and the expression of drought induced proteins-Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) and dehydrins (DHNs). Generalised phenotypic changes were studied using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy and non-targeted Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to detect changes in metabolites, while changes in protein expression were examined using Western blot analysis. Different response profiles of metabolites, HSPs and DHNs were observed in the two cultivars. Metabolic changes involved variation in amino acids, polysaccharides and their derivatives. A total of 188 compounds, with 142 known metabolites and 46 unknown small molecules, were detected in the two sorghum varieties. Under water deficit conditions, Samsorg 17 accumulated sugars and sugar alcohols, while in Samsorg 40 amino acids increased in concentration. This study suggest that the two Sorghum varieties adopt distinct approaches in response to drought, with Samsorg 17 being better able to maintain leaf function under severe drought conditions.

Corrigendum: Flux balance analysis reveals acetate metabolism modulates cyclic electron flow and alternative glycolytic pathways in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

[This corrects the article on p. 474 in vol. 6, PMID: 26175742.].

Acclimation of metabolism to light in Arabidopsis thaliana: the glucose 6-phosphate/phosphate translocator GPT2 directs metabolic acclimation

Mature leaves of plants transferred from low to high light typically increase their photosynthetic capacity. In Arabidopsis thaliana, this dynamic acclimation requires expression of GPT2, a glucose 6-phosphate/phosphate translocator. Here, we examine the impact of GPT2 on leaf metabolism and photosynthesis. Plants of wild type and of a GPT2 knockout (gpt2.2) grown under low light achieved the same photosynthetic rate despite having different metabolic and transcriptomic strategies. Immediately upon transfer to high light, gpt2.2 plants showed a higher rate of photosynthesis than wild-type plants (35%); however, over subsequent days, wild-type plants acclimated photosynthetic capacity, increasing the photosynthesis rate by 100% after 7 d. Wild-type plants accumulated more starch than gpt2.2 plants throughout acclimation. We suggest that GPT2 activity results in the net import of glucose 6-phosphate from cytosol to chloroplast, increasing starch synthesis. There was clear acclimation of metabolism, with short-term changes typically being reversed as plants acclimated. Distinct responses to light were observed in wild-type and gpt2.2 leaves. Significantly higher levels of sugar phosphates were observed in gpt2.2. We suggest that GPT2 alters the distribution of metabolites between compartments and that this plays an essential role in allowing the cell to interpret environmental signals.

Exploiting heterogeneous environments: does photosynthetic acclimation optimize carbon gain in fluctuating light?

Plants have evolved complex mechanisms to balance the efficient use of absorbed light energy in photosynthesis with the capacity to use that energy in assimilation, so avoiding potential damage from excess light. This is particularly important under natural light, which can vary according to weather, solar movement and canopy movement. Photosynthetic acclimation is the means by which plants alter their leaf composition and structure over time to enhance photosynthetic efficiency and productivity. However there is no empirical or theoretical basis for understanding how leaves track historic light levels to determine acclimation status, or whether they do this accurately. We hypothesized that in fluctuating light (varying in both intensity and frequency), the light-response characteristics of a leaf should adjust (dynamically acclimate) to maximize daily carbon gain. Using a framework of mathematical modelling based on light-response curves, we have analysed carbon-gain dynamics under various light patterns. The objective was to develop new tools to quantify the precision with which photosynthesis acclimates according to the environment in which plants exist and to test this tool on existing data. We found an inverse relationship between the optimal maximum photosynthetic capacity and the frequency of low to high light transitions. Using experimental data from the literature we were able to show that the observed patterns for acclimation were consistent with a strategy towards maximizing daily carbon gain. Refinement of the model will further determine the precision of acclimation.

Flux balance analysis reveals acetate metabolism modulates cyclic electron flow and alternative glycolytic pathways in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Cells of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cultured in the presence of acetate perform mixotrophic growth, involving both photosynthesis and organic carbon assimilation. Under such conditions, cells exhibit a reduced capacity for photosynthesis but a higher growth rate, compared to phototrophic cultures. Better understanding of the down regulation of photosynthesis would enable more efficient conversion of carbon into valuable products like biofuels. In this study, Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) and Flux Variability Analysis (FVA) have been used with a genome scale model of C. reinhardtii to examine changes in intracellular flux distribution in order to explain their changing physiology. Additionally, a reaction essentiality analysis was performed to identify which reaction subsets are essential for a given growth condition. Our results suggest that exogenous acetate feeds into a modified tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, which bypasses the CO2 evolution steps, explaining increases in biomass, consistent with experimental data. In addition, reactions of the oxidative pentose phosphate and glycolysis pathways, inactive under phototrophic conditions, show substantial flux under mixotrophic conditions. Importantly, acetate addition leads to an increased flux through cyclic electron flow (CEF), but results in a repression of CO2 fixation via Rubisco, explaining the down regulation of photosynthesis. However, although CEF enhances growth on acetate, it is not essential-impairment of CEF results in alternative metabolic pathways being increased. We have demonstrated how the reactions of photosynthesis interconnect with carbon metabolism on a global scale, and how systems approaches play a viable tool in understanding complex relationships at the scale of the organism.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) varieties adopt strongly contrasting strategies in response to drought

Sorghum is one of the most drought tolerant crops but surprisingly, little is known about the mechanisms achieving this. We have compared physiological and biochemical responses to drought in two sorghum cultivars with contrasting drought tolerance. These closely related cultivars have starkly contrasting responses to water deficit. In the less tolerant Samsorg 40, drought induced progressive loss of photosynthesis. The more drought tolerant Samsorg 17 maintained photosynthesis, transpiration and chlorophyll content until the most extreme conditions. In Samsorg 40, there was a highly specific down-regulation of selected proteins, with loss of PSII and Rubisco but maintenance of PSI and cytochrome b6 f, allowing plants to maintain ATP synthesis. The nitrogen released allows for accumulation of glycine betaine and proline. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of specific reengineering of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to drought. In contrast, in Samsorg 17 we detected no substantial change in the photosynthetic apparatus. Rather, plants showed constitutively high soluble sugar concentration, enabling them to maintain transpiration and photosynthesis, even in extremely dry conditions. The implications for these strikingly contrasted strategies are discussed in relation to agricultural and natural systems.

GPT2: a glucose 6-phosphate/phosphate translocator with a novel role in the regulation of sugar signalling during seedling development

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

GPT2, a glucose 6-phosphate/phosphate translocator, plays an important role in environmental sensing in mature leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. Its expression has also been detected in arabidopsis seeds and seedlings. In order to examine the role of this protein early in development, germination and seedling growth were studied.

METHODS

Germination, greening and establishment of seedlings were monitored in both wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and in a gpt2 T-DNA insertion knockout line. Seeds were sown on agar plates in the presence or absence of glucose and abscisic acid. Relative expression of GPT2 in seedlings was measured using quantitative PCR.

KEY RESULTS

Plants lacking GPT2 expression were delayed (25-40 %) in seedling establishment, specifically in the process of cotyledon greening (rather than germination). This phenotype could not be rescued by glucose in the growth medium, with greening being hypersensitive to glucose. Germination itself was, however, hyposensitive to glucose in the gpt2 mutant.

CONCLUSIONS

The expression of GPT2 modulates seedling development and plays a crucial role in determining the response of seedlings to exogenous sugars during their establishment. This allows us to conclude that endogenous sugar signals function in controlling germination and the transition from heterotrophic to autotrophic growth, and that the partitioning of glucose 6-phosphate, or related metabolites, between the cytosol and the plastid modulates these developmental responses.

Reprint of: physiology of PSI cyclic electron transport in higher plants

Having long been debated, it is only in the last few years that a concensus has emerged that the cyclic flow of electrons around Photosystem I plays an important and general role in the photosynthesis of higher plants. Two major pathways of cyclic flow have been identified, involving either a complex termed NDH or mediated via a pathway involving a protein PGR5 and two functions have been described-to generate ATP and to provide a pH gradient inducing non-photochemical quenching. The best evidence for the occurrence of the two pathways comes from measurements under stress conditions-high light, drought and extreme temperatures. In this review, the possible relative functions and importance of the two pathways is discussed as well as evidence as to how the flow through these pathways is regulated. Our growing knowledge of the proteins involved in cyclic electron flow will, in the future, enable us to understand better the occurrence and diversity of cyclic electron transport pathways. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Regulation of Electron Transport in Chloroplasts.

Putative function of cytochrome b559 as a plastoquinol oxidase

The function of cytochrome b559 (cyt b559) in photosystem II (PSII) was studied in a tobacco mutant in which the conserved phenylalanine at position 26 in the beta-subunit was changed to serine. Young leaves of the mutant showed no significant difference in chloroplast ultra structure or in the amount and activity of PSII, while in mature leaves the size of the grana stacks and the amount of PSII were significantly reduced. Mature leaves of the mutant showed a higher susceptibility to photoinhibition and a higher production of singlet oxygen, as shown by spin trapping electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Oxygen consumption and superoxide production were studied in thylakoid membranes in which the Mn cluster was removed to ensure that all the cyt b559 was present in its low potential form. In thylakoid membranes, from wild-type plants, the larger fraction of superoxide production was 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea-sensitive. This type of superoxide formation was absent in thylakoid membranes from the mutant. The physiological importance of the plastoquinol oxidation by cyt b559 for photosynthesis is discussed.