Protective systems against active oxygen species in spinach: response to cold acclimation in excess light

✍ Scribed by Susanne Schöner; G. Heinrich Krause

• Book ID: 104660276
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 791 KB
• Volume: 180
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0032-0935
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00198790

✦ Synopsis

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) plants were acclimated to 1 ~ C or maintained at 18 ~ C under the same light regime (260-3001amol photons.m-2.s-1). The cold acclimation led to several metabolic and biochemical changes that apparently include improved protection of the photosynthetic apparatus against active oxygen species. In particular, cold-acclimated leaves exhibited a considerably higher ascorbate content and significantly increased activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and monodehydroascorbate reductase in the chloroplasts. The level of dehydroascorbate reductase did not alter. Catalase activity decreased. The photosynthetic pigment composition of cold-acclimated spinach was characterized by increased levels of the xanthophylls lutein + zeaxanthin and violaxanthin. The observed changes are discussed in terms of their possible relevance for plant resistance to photoinhibition at chilling temperatures.