Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato
Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> Mill.) is one of the widely cultured vegetables under protected cultivation, in which insufficient light is one of the major factors that limit its growth, yield, and quality. Chlorophyll <i>b</i> (Chl <i>b</i>) is exclusively p...
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/3377 |
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| author | Imran Khan Ahmad Zada Ting Jia Xueyun Hu |
| author_facet | Imran Khan Ahmad Zada Ting Jia Xueyun Hu |
| author_sort | Imran Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> Mill.) is one of the widely cultured vegetables under protected cultivation, in which insufficient light is one of the major factors that limit its growth, yield, and quality. Chlorophyll <i>b</i> (Chl <i>b</i>) is exclusively present in the light-harvesting complex (LHC) of photosystems, while its synthesis is strictly regulated in response to light conditions in order to control the antenna size. Chlorophyllide <i>a</i> oxygenase (CAO) is the sole enzyme that converts Chl <i>a</i> to Chl <i>b</i> for Chl <i>b</i> biosynthesis. Previous studies have shown that overexpressing CAO without the regulating domain (A domain) in Arabidopsis overproduced Chl <i>b</i>. However, the growth characteristics of the Chl <i>b</i> overproduced plants under different light environmental conditions are not well studied. Considering tomatoes are light-loving plants and sensitive to low light stress, this study aimed to uncover the growth character of tomatoes with enhanced production of Chl <i>b</i>. The A domain deleted Arabidopsis CAO fused with the FLAG tag (BCF) was overexpressed in tomatoes. The BCF overexpressed plants accumulated a significantly higher Chl <i>b</i> content, resulting in a significantly lower Chl <i>a/b</i> ratio than WT. Additionally, BCF plants possessed a lower maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and anthocyanin content than WT plants. The growth rate of BCF plants was significantly faster than WT plants under low-light (LL) conditions with light intensity at 50–70 µmol photons m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>, while BCF plants grew slower than WT plants under high-light (HL) conditions. Our results revealed that Chl <i>b</i> overproduced tomato plants could better adapt to LL conditions by absorbing more light for photosynthesis but adapt poorly to excess light conditions by accumulating more ROS and fewer anthocyanins. Enhanced production of Chl <i>b</i> is able to improve the growth rate of tomatoes that are grown under LL conditions, indicating the prospect of employing Chl <i>b</i> overproduced light-loving crops and ornamental plants for protected or indoor cultivation. |
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| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
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| spelling | doaj.art-8e1b3f63cb2f407fa8f58bd5db1eabe72023-11-16T20:59:09ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-02-01244337710.3390/ijms24043377Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of TomatoImran Khan0Ahmad Zada1Ting Jia2Xueyun Hu3International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaInternational Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaInternational Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaInternational Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaTomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> Mill.) is one of the widely cultured vegetables under protected cultivation, in which insufficient light is one of the major factors that limit its growth, yield, and quality. Chlorophyll <i>b</i> (Chl <i>b</i>) is exclusively present in the light-harvesting complex (LHC) of photosystems, while its synthesis is strictly regulated in response to light conditions in order to control the antenna size. Chlorophyllide <i>a</i> oxygenase (CAO) is the sole enzyme that converts Chl <i>a</i> to Chl <i>b</i> for Chl <i>b</i> biosynthesis. Previous studies have shown that overexpressing CAO without the regulating domain (A domain) in Arabidopsis overproduced Chl <i>b</i>. However, the growth characteristics of the Chl <i>b</i> overproduced plants under different light environmental conditions are not well studied. Considering tomatoes are light-loving plants and sensitive to low light stress, this study aimed to uncover the growth character of tomatoes with enhanced production of Chl <i>b</i>. The A domain deleted Arabidopsis CAO fused with the FLAG tag (BCF) was overexpressed in tomatoes. The BCF overexpressed plants accumulated a significantly higher Chl <i>b</i> content, resulting in a significantly lower Chl <i>a/b</i> ratio than WT. Additionally, BCF plants possessed a lower maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and anthocyanin content than WT plants. The growth rate of BCF plants was significantly faster than WT plants under low-light (LL) conditions with light intensity at 50–70 µmol photons m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>, while BCF plants grew slower than WT plants under high-light (HL) conditions. Our results revealed that Chl <i>b</i> overproduced tomato plants could better adapt to LL conditions by absorbing more light for photosynthesis but adapt poorly to excess light conditions by accumulating more ROS and fewer anthocyanins. Enhanced production of Chl <i>b</i> is able to improve the growth rate of tomatoes that are grown under LL conditions, indicating the prospect of employing Chl <i>b</i> overproduced light-loving crops and ornamental plants for protected or indoor cultivation.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/3377tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> Mill.)chlorophyll <i>b</i>chlorophyllide <i>a</i> oxygenasehigh-lightlow-lightreactive oxygen species (ROS) |
| spellingShingle | Imran Khan Ahmad Zada Ting Jia Xueyun Hu Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato International Journal of Molecular Sciences tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> Mill.) chlorophyll <i>b</i> chlorophyllide <i>a</i> oxygenase high-light low-light reactive oxygen species (ROS) |
| title | Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato |
| title_full | Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato |
| title_fullStr | Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato |
| title_short | Effect of the Enhanced Production of Chlorophyll <i>b</i> on the Light Acclimation of Tomato |
| title_sort | effect of the enhanced production of chlorophyll i b i on the light acclimation of tomato |
| topic | tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> Mill.) chlorophyll <i>b</i> chlorophyllide <i>a</i> oxygenase high-light low-light reactive oxygen species (ROS) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/3377 |
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