Altering light perception during tomato fruit ripening significantly affects antioxidant accumulation LW+UVLWHW D FR RB Chloroplasts “compartment size”: organelle population signalling, and the uncovering of chloroplast “master switches”.
A tomato mutant with enhanced antioxidants (hp2) - shows enhanced plastid development, and - is defective in a repressors of photomorphogenesis (LsDET1) hp2j WT
A cell’s plastid complement is dramatically affected by loss of LsDET1 hp2j WT
Loss of LsDET1 leads to at least a doubling in plastid complement
Fruit-specific silencing of LsDET1 also leads to increased cellular plastid compartment wild type2A11p:DET1i TFM7p:DET1iP119p:DET1i T562A11TFM7P119 Plastome/nuclear genome ratio (Unpublished data by E. Enfissi) (Plants of Davuluri et al. 2005, Nature Biotech. 7: ) The increase can also be measured as plastome/genome ratio
Importantly, increased plastid compartment can be achieved by combinations of increases in plastid size and number Exocarp Number of plastids per cell Average plastid size (μm 2 ) Total plastid area per cell (μm 2 ) T56TFM7 Cell area (μm 2 ) Number of plastids per cell Average plastid size (μm 2 ) Total plastid area per cell (μm 2 ) Genotype T56TFM7 Outer mesocarp Inner mesocarp Plastid “growth” matters
Tight control of the total cellular plastid complement has long been known in cereal leaves Since plastid growth results from the expression of nuclear genes, this implies “plastid compartment size” retrograde signalling (Ellis and Leech 1985, Planta 165: ) (Pyke and Leech 1987, Planta 170: )
3dD +1dL+2dL +3dL +4dL +5dL Chloroplast biogenesis can be followed as part of a whole transcriptome analysis of leaf initiation in the light (distinguishing the shoot apex and the cotyledons)
Indeed light upregulates specifically in the shoot apex components of the plastid division process, but this is unlikely to be the driving force in chloroplast accumulation. Many other processes occur.
Combined examination of biochemically-unrelated chloroplast biogenesis genes reveals the existence of “modules” of corregulated genes. TIC 110