Natural variation in tocochromanols content in Arabidopsis thaliana accessions – the effect of temperature and light intensity

Abstract

In this study, 25 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana originating from a variety of climate conditions were grown under controlled circumstances of different light intensity and temperature. The accessions were analyzed for prenyllipids content and composition, as well as expression of the genes involved in tocochromanol biosynthesis (vte1-5). It was found that the applied conditions did not strongly affect total tocochromanols content and there was no apparent correlation of the tocochromanol content with the origin of the accessions. However, the presented results indicate that the temperature, more than the light intensity, affects the expression of the vte1-5 genes and the content of some prenyllipids. An interesting observation was that under low growth temperature, the hydroxy-plastochromanol (PC-OH) to plastochromanol (PC) ratio was considerably increased regardless of the light intensity in most of the accessions. PC-OH is known to be formed as a result of singlet oxygen stress, therefore this observation indicates that the singlet oxygen production is enhanced under low temperature. Unexpectedly, the highest increase in the PC-OH/PC ratio was found for accessions originating from cold climate (Shigu, Krazo-1 and Lov-5), even though such plants could be expected to be more resistant to low temperature stress.

Plastoquinone In and Beyond Photosynthesis

“…High temperature is another factor that has been reported to trigger PQ-9 and plastochromanol-8 accumulation in leaves [23]. However, the combination of high light and low temperature was found to be the most effective to induce the expression of the VTE1 and VTE4 genes and to cause PQ-9 accumulation [24]. This condition is known to promote high excitation pressure on the photosystems, ROS production and photooxidative stress [25].…”

Exploring lipophilic antioxidants accumulation in field-grown low temperature-stressed Ephedra monosperma

“…3B). Lower positive temperatures were found to be the most effective in inducing the expression of the VTE1 and VTE4 genes and causing accumulation of PQ (Gabruk et al 2016). A more pronounced increase in PQH2 is due to the fact that the primary biosynthetic form of PQ is PQH2, the reduced form.…”

Transcriptional and protein structural characterization of homogentisate phytyltransferase genes in barley, wheat, and oat

“…In previous studies, the transcription pattern of HPT has been directly associated tocopherol accumulation in various crops [ 23 , 26 , 30 , 33 ], which may play a critical role in plant growth under various stress conditions. Indeed, up-regulation of genes related to vitamin E biosynthesis and vitamin E accumulation has been reported in several species under low temperature [ 22 , 34 – 37 ], light intensity [ 28 , 38 ], drought [ 39 ], and bacterial infection [ 10 ]. Therefore, it would be interesting to investigate the transcriptional and molecular profiles of these divergent HPTs in Triticeae , which may have important implications for understanding their biological function and potential use in crop breeding for improved vitamin E content and stress tolerance.…”