Assembly of Pigment-Protein Complexes in Carotenoid-Deficient Membranes of Plastids from Wheat Seedlings Treated with Norflurazon

I. M. Guseinova^*, S. Y. Suleimanov, and J. A. Aliyev

Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences, Patamdar Shosse 40, Baku 370073, Azerbaijan; fax: (994-12) 97-5045, (994-12) 38-1164; E-mail: aliyev_j@azeronline.com

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received August 6, 2003; Revision received December 4, 2003

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The pyridazinone-type herbicide norflurazon SAN 9789 inhibiting the biosynthesis of long-chain carotenoids results in significant decrease in PS II core complexes and content of light-harvesting complex (LHC) polypeptides. At the same time, early light-induced proteins (ELIP) with molecular masses of 20.5-16.5 and 13.5 kD disappear in norflurazon-treated seedlings grown under intermittent (pulsed) light, confirming the hypothesis that they are carotenoid-binding proteins. Full disappearance of Chl a forms at 668, 676, and 690 nm and a sharp decrease in Chl b form at 648 nm in treated seedlings grown under 30 or 100 lx light intensity shows close contact of these forms with carotenoids in the thylakoid membrane. The band shift from 740 to 720 nm in the low-temperature fluorescence spectrum (77 K) suggests a disturbance of energy transfer from LHC to the Chl a form at 710-712 nm.

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KEY WORDS: carotenoids, chloroplasts, light-harvesting complex, fluorescence, wheat

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