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A blue-light photoreceptor mediates the fluence-rate-dependent expression of genes encoding the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase in light-grown Phaseolus vulgaris primary leaves

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Abstract

The level of transcripts of genes encoding the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rbcS genes) in the primary leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris L. increases substantially when plants grown in a low fluence rate of white light (15 μmol m−2 s−1; 400–700 nm) are transferred to a tenfold higher fluence rate of identical spectral quality. To investigate which photoreceptor acts as the fluence-rate detector, plants grown for 16 d in low white light were transferred to blue-enriched or red light environments of various fluence rates. The results indicate that the fluence-rate-dependent increase in rbcS expression is mediated specifically by blue light. Red light of the same fluence rate, which was found to be equally effective in driving photosynthesis, had much less effect on expression, indicating that light absorbed by the photosynthetic pigments does not mediate the response. Moreover, there is no correlation of the transcript levels with either the cycling rate or photoequilibrium of the phytochrome system. Run-on assays with isolated nuclei indicate that blue light substantially increases the rate of rbcS transcription. Experiments with gene-specific probes show that individual members of the P. vulgaris rbcS gene family exhibit the fluence-rate-dependent, blue-light-mediated increase in expression.

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Abbreviations

rbcS:

genes encoding the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

cab :

genes encoding the major light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein of the LHCII complex

Pr, Pfr:

the forms of phytochrome absorbing maximally red and far-red light, respectively

ΦC :

the calculated proportion of phytochrome in the Pfr form

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Author notes

  1. Enrique López-Juez

    Present address: Laboratory of Photoperception and Signal Transduction, Frontier Research Program, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, 351-01, Saitama, Japan

  2. Marc R. Knight

    Present address: Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Mayfield Road, EH9 3JH, Edinburgh

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK

    Tim I. Sawbridge, Enrique López-Juez, Marc R. Knight & Gareth I. Jenkins

  2. Department of Botany, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK

    Enrique López-Juez & Gareth I. Jenkins

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  1. Tim I. Sawbridge
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  2. Enrique López-Juez
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  4. Gareth I. Jenkins
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Additional information

G.I.J. thanks the UK Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and Agricultural and Food Research Council for financial support. T.I.S. and M.R.K. were supported by SERC postgraduate studentships and E.L.J. gratefully acknowledges a British Council grant-in-aid travel bursary.

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Sawbridge, T.I., López-Juez, E., Knight, M.R. et al. A blue-light photoreceptor mediates the fluence-rate-dependent expression of genes encoding the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase in light-grown Phaseolus vulgaris primary leaves. Planta 192, 1–8 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00198686

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