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Transgenic tobacco with suppressed zeaxanthin formation is susceptible to stress-induced photoinhibition

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Abstract

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) transformed with the antisense construct of tobacco violaxanthin de-epoxidase was analyzed for responses in growth chambers to both short and long-term stress treatments. Following a short-term (2 or 3 h) high-light treatment, antisense plants had a greater reduction in Fv/Fm relative to wild-type, indicating a greater susceptibility to photoinhibition. The responses of antisense plants to long-term stress were examined in two separate experiments, one with high light alone and the other wherein high light and water stress were combined. In the light-stress experiment, plants were grown at 1300 μmol photons m−2 s−1 under a 12 h photoperiod. In the light and water-stress experiment, plants were grown under moderately high light of 900 μmol photons m−2 s−1, under a 16 h photoperiod, in combination with water stress. Both conditions caused formation of high antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin levels in wild-type plants but not in antisense plants. In both cases, antisense plants showed significant reductions in Fv/Fm and total leaf-pigment content relative to wild-type. The data demonstrate a critical photoprotective function of the xanthophyll cycle-dependent energy dissipation in tobacco exposed suddenly to high amounts of excess light over extended times.

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Verhoeven, A.S., Bugos, R.C. & Yamamoto, H.Y. Transgenic tobacco with suppressed zeaxanthin formation is susceptible to stress-induced photoinhibition. Photosynthesis Research 67, 27–39 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010684327864

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010684327864