Summary
Chlorophyll mutants in higher plants are often injured by high light intensities [see 14, 24]. By contrast a dominant aurea mutant in tobacco, Su/su, which was discovered by Burk and Menser in 1964 [2], requires high light intensities for normal growth. The mutation has apparently produced a sun plant in which the inherited loss of light-absorbing pigments has been made up by an increased capacity for using light. Numerically, this characteristic is expressed by a maximal rate of photosynthesis of 230 μl O2 evolved/mg chlorophyll per min, whereas the green control var. John Williams Broadleaf only gives 45 μl O2 evolved/mg chlorophyll per min. Similar, but not as large, metabolic ratios seem to prevail between other normal green plants and their yellow-green derivatives, like Nicotiana tabacum Rg, Fla. 15, No. 63 and Dixie Shade.
Zusammenfassung
Chlorophyllmutanten von höheren Pflanzen werden im allgemeinen durch hohe Lichtintensitäten geschädigt [14, 23]. Im Gegensatz dazu benötigt die Aureamutante Nicotiana tabacum Su/su hohe Lichtintensitäten für normales Wachstum. Die Mutante ist eine typische Sonnenpflanze, in welcher der genetisch verursachte Pigmentverlust durch die bessere Fähigkeit, hohe Lichtintensitäten auszunutzen, ausgeglichen wurde. Zahlenmäßig wird diese Eigenschaft durch eine maximale photosynthetische Sauerstoffentwicklung von 230 μl/mg Chlorophyll/min ausgedrückt. Die grüne Kontrolle Nic. tabacum var. John Williams Broadleaf vermag dagegen nur 45 μl O2/mg Chlorophyll/min zu entwickeln. Ähnliche metabolische Verhältnisse bestehen zwischen anderen normal grünen Pflanzen und ihren gelbgrünen Abkömmlingen, z. B. N. tabacum Rg, Florida 15, No. 63, Dixie Shade.
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These studies were supported by contract No. AT-(40-1)-2687 from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to Professor H. Gaffron.
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Schmid, G.H. The influence of different light intensities on the growth of the tobacco aurea mutant Su/su . Planta 77, 77–94 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00387561
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00387561