Photosynthetic apparatus in chilling-sensitive plants. VII. Comparison of the effect of galactolipase treatment of chloroplasts and cold-dark storage of leaves on photosynthetic electron flow.

1. Both galactolipase treatment of tomato chloroplasts and the cold and dark storage of leaves induce a large degradation of chloroplast monogalactosyl diacylglycerol and digalactosyl diacylglycerol as well as an accumulatwon of free fatty acids accompanied by the inhibition of Hill reaction activity with water as electron donor. All these changes are reversed upon illumination of the leaves. 2. Inhibition of diphenylcarbazide (DPC) leads to dichlorophenolindophenol (DCIP) activity by free fatty acids released following galactolipase treatment of chloroplasts isolated from either fresh or cold and dark-stored and illuminated leaves is almost completely reversed by either bovine serum albumin or Mn2+, while that in chloroplasts from the cold and dark-stored leaves is reversed by bovine serum albumin and Mn2+ only up to about 60 and 25%, respectively. 3. Fatty acids released during the treatment of chloroplasts with galactolipase affect the electron transport mainly in the same site as exogenous unsaturated fatty acids do, while those released due to endogenous galactolipase activity appear to affect also in the region damaged by either Tris washing of chloroplasts or the cold and dark treatment of leaves. 4. The loss of manganese from chloroplasts (Kaniuga, Z., Zabek, J. and Sochanowicz, B. (1978) Planta 144, 49-56) seems to be the main reason of cold and dark-induced inactivation of Hill reaction activity in chloroplasts of chilling-sensitive plants, while both the degradation of galactolipids and the accumulation of fatty acids are of secondary importance.