A new pathway of chlorophyll biosynthesis from long-wavelength protochlorophyllide Pchlide 686/676 in juvenile etiolated plants

By spectral methods, the final stages of chlorophyll formation from protochlorophyllide were studied using etiolated pea, bean, barley, wheat and maize plants in early stages (4 days) of growth. For these juvenile plants, along with the reaction chain known for mature (7-9-day-old) plants, a new reaction chain was found, which started with phototransformation of the long-wavelength form Pchlide 686/676(440) into Pchlide 653/648(440). (Pchlide 653/648(440) differs from the main known precursor form Pchlide 655/650(448)). The subsequent photoreduction of Pchlide 653/648(440) leads to the formation of Chlide 684/676(440), which is transformed into Chl 688/680(440) in the course of a dark reaction. After completion of this reaction, fast (20-30 s) quenching of the low-temperature fluorescence of the reaction product is observed with the formation of non-fluorescent Chl 680. The reaction accompanied by pigment fluorescence quenching is absent in pea mutants with depressed function of Photosystem II reaction centers. This suggests that the newly found reaction chain leads to the formation of chlorophyll of the Photosystem II core.