Effects of heat pre-treatment (60 oC for 15 min) on the chlorophyll (Chl) bleaching and excitation energy transfer in thylakoids, isolated from the cucumber cotyledons, were studied by anaiysis of the overlapping absorption and the low temperature fluorescence spectra. The Chl forms C678 and C672 appeared to be the most heat-susceptible components, whereas C684 was found to be very heat-stable. Subsequent exposure of the thylakoid suspension to a high photon flux density (ca. 3 500 pmol m‘2 s'i) caused further bleaching of all the tested forms: ca. 8-20 or 2-5 % of chlorophyll was degraded duríng the initial (0-4 min) or later (4-10 min) period of irradiation, respectively. The heat pre-treatment of thylakoids led to the decrease of the 472 and 486 nm bands in Chl fluorescence excitation spectrum and the 730 nm band in the Chl fluorescence emission spectrum. The F730/F685 ratio decreased by ca. 4-, 3- or 2-fold when excited with the wavelengths of 437, 742 or 486 nm, respectively. These ratios increased by 60-90 % after 10 min irradiation with high photon flnx density.
The effect of three different concentrations of amitrole (AM), a bleaching herbicide affecting carotenogenesis, on chloroplast ultrastructure, photosynthetic pigment contents, and photochemical activity was studied in two maize genotypes differing in photosynthetic characteristics. The content of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of plants treated with low (20 μM) AM concentration was similar to control plants and no damaging effect of the herbicide on the ultrastructure of either mesophyll (MC) or bundle-sheath (BSC) cell chloroplasts was observed. Higher (60 and 120 μM) concentrations of AM caused a significant decrease in the content of carotenoids (especially xanthophylls), which was followed by photooxidative destruction of chlorophylls and some alterations of chloroplast ultrastructure. MC chloroplasts appeared more sensitive to the damaging effect of AM compared to BSC chloroplasts. A significant decrease in the amount of both granal and intergranal thylakoids in MC chloroplasts was observed with the increasing concentration of AM. As regards BSC chloroplasts, rapid decrease in the volume density of starch inclusions was found in plants treated with higher concentrations of AM. When 120 μM AM was used, both MC and BSC chloroplasts contained just a few thylakoid membranes that were strongly altered. The changes in the ultrastructure of MC chloroplasts were accompanied by the changes in their photochemical activity. The formation of chloroplast protrusions after treatment of plants with AM as well as in control plants was also observed. and R. Pechová ... [et al.].