Far-red light induces ultrastructural reorganization of chloroplasts in Marchantia polymorpha to compensate for reduced photosynthetic efficiency
摘要
Far-red light is stressful to Marchantia polymorpha and reduces the efficiency of photosystem II. In response, Marchantia reorganizes the chloroplast ultrastructure, forming Rubisco condensate regions to physicochemically concentrate CO₂.
AbstractThe light spectral composition is one of the key photomorphogenesis factors. Far-red light (FRL) resulted in marked changes in the morphology of Marchantia polymorpha chloroplasts. However, most aspects of this photomorphogenesis remain unexplored, and this work is devoted to elucidating their nature. We studied in vitro cultured M. polymorpha under FRL or wide spectral range illumination. Transmission electron microscopy and Au-immunolabeling were used for analysis. Gene expression and protein quantification were performed via RT‒PCR and Western blotting. FRL causes the appearance of non-membrane formation in the chloroplast, which has not been previously described for M. polymorpha. This region is enriched in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and is surrounded by starch grains. FRL negatively regulates the accumulation of Rubisco in M. polymorpha at the transcriptional level. Our study revealed that, under FRL action, M. polymorpha experiences a marked decrease in the key enzyme involved in CO2 assimilation, Rubisco. At the same time, Rubisco condensate structures are formed in chloroplasts, which can be considered a compensatory strategy for the realization of the CO2 concentrating mechanism, which is widely known in phylogenetically close groups.
Graphical abstract