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Speed of signal transfer in the chloroplast accumulation response

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Abstract

Chloroplast photorelocation movement is important for plants to perform efficient photosynthesis. Phototropins were identified as blue-light receptors for chloroplast movement in Arabidopsis thaliana and in the fern Adiantum capillus-veneris, whereas neochrome functions as a dual red/blue light receptor in the latter. However, the signal transduction pathways involved in chloroplast movement remain to be clarified. To investigate the kinetic properties of signalling from these photoreceptors to the chloroplasts, we deduced the speed of signal transfer using Adiantum capillus-veneris gametophytes. When a region of dark-adapted gametophyte cells was subjected to microbeam irradiation, chloroplasts moved towards the irradiated area even in subsequent darkness. We therefore recorded the movement and calculated the speeds of signal transfer by time-lapse imaging. Movement speeds under red or blue light were similar, e.g., about 1.0 μm min−1 in prothallial cells. However, speeds varied according to cell polarity in protonemal cells. The speed of signal transfer from the protonemal apex to the base was approximately 0.7 μm min−1, but roughly 2.3 μm min−1 in the opposite direction. The speed of signal transfer in Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll cells was approximately 0.8 μm min−1 by comparison. Surprisingly, chloroplasts located farthest away from the microbeam were found to move faster than those in close proximity to the site of irradiation both in Adiantum capillus-veneris and A. thaliana.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. John Christie, University of Glasgow, for his critical reading and editing of this manuscript. This work was partly supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT 13139203, 17084006 to M.W.), the Japan Society of Promotion of Science (JSPS 13304061, 16107002, 20227001 to M.W.), and a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (to H.T.).

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  1. Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minami-Osawa 1-1, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

    Hidenori Tsuboi

  2. Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka, 812-8581, Japan

    Hidenori Tsuboi & Masamitsu Wada

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  1. Hidenori Tsuboi
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  2. Masamitsu Wada
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Correspondence to Masamitsu Wada.

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Tsuboi, H., Wada, M. Speed of signal transfer in the chloroplast accumulation response. J Plant Res 123, 381–390 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-009-0284-y

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