Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by HASHIMOTO, H.
Right arrow Articles by POSSINGHAM, J. V.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by HASHIMOTO, H.
Right arrow Articles by POSSINGHAM, J. V.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by HASHIMOTO, H.
Right arrow Articles by POSSINGHAM, J. V.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1989 Oxford University Press

RESEARCH-ARTICLE

DNA Levels in Dividing and Developing Plastids in Expanding Primary Leaves of Avena sativa

HARUKI HASHIMOTO 1 and JOHN V. POSSINGHAM2

CSIRO Division of Horticulture G.P O. Box 350, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

2 To whom correspondence should be addressed.

The amounts of plastid DNA in the primary leaves of 4-d-old light- and dark-grown seedlings of Avena sativa were measured by microspectrofluorometry using the DNA-fluorochrome DAPI (4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole).

In the light-grown primary leaves (40–45 mm long) there was a marked increase in DNA level per plastid from 10.2 to 18.5 × 10–15 g between 2.0 mm and 10 mm from the leaf base, resulting from the rate of plastid DNA synthesis being higher than the rate of plastid division. Beyond 30 mm the plastid DNA level was reduced to 14 × 10–15g due to chloroplast division rates being higher than the rate of plastid DNA synthesis, while from 20 mm plastid DNA levels were constant at 2.2 × 10–12 g per cell, which corresponds to 16000 plastome copies per cell.

Observations of dark-grown leaves establish that, in Avena, light is not necessary for plastid division and the dark-grown leaf cells accumulate higher amounts of plastid DNA than light-grown leaf cells.

Plastid nucleoids showed a change of distribution after completion of plastid DNA synthesis in light-grown leaves. A change in the distribution of plastid nucleoids was also observed during the greening of etioplasts of dark-grown leaves while plastid DNA level remained constant. Such changes in plastid nucleoid distribution appear to be independent of plastid DNA synthesis and correlate with the formation of grana stacks.

Key words: Avena sativa, microspectrofluorometry, plastid DNA


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
B. A. Rowan and A. J. Bendich
The loss of DNA from chloroplasts as leaves mature: fact or artefact?
J. Exp. Bot., July 1, 2009; 60(11): 3005 - 3010.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
E. Lopez-Juez
Plastid biogenesis, between light and shadows
J. Exp. Bot., January 1, 2007; 58(1): 11 - 26.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.