Photosynthetica 2010, 48(3):409-416 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-010-0053-0

Antisense-mediated suppression of tomato zeaxanthin epoxidase alleviates photoinhibition of PSII and PSI during chilling stress under low irradiance

N. Wang1, B. Li1, H. L. Feng1, Q. Y. Zhang1, X. H. Yang1, Q. W. Meng1,*
1 College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, P.R. China

A tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) zeaxanthin epoxidase gene (LeZE) was isolated and antisense transgenic tomato plants were produced. Northern, southern, and western blot analyses demonstrated that antisense LeZE was transferred into the tomato genome and the expression of LeZE was inhibited. The ratio of (A+Z)/(V+A+Z) in antisense transgenic plants was maintained at a higher level than in the wild type (WT) plants under high light and chilling stress with low irradiance. The value of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) in WT and transgenic plants was not affected during the stresses. The oxidizable P700 and the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) in transgenic plants decreased more slowly at chilling temperature under low irradiance. These results suggested that suppression of LeZE caused zeaxanthin accumulation, which was helpful in alleviating photoinhibition of PSI and PSII in tomato plants under chilling stress.

Keywords: antisense transgenic plants; chilling stress under low irradiance; photoinhibition; tomato; zeaxanthin epoxidase gene.

Received: July 16, 2009; Accepted: May 18, 2010; Published: September 1, 2010Show citation

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Wang, N., Li, B., Feng, H.L., Zhang, Q.Y., Yang, X.H., & Meng, Q.W. (2010). Antisense-mediated suppression of tomato zeaxanthin epoxidase alleviates photoinhibition of PSII and PSI during chilling stress under low irradiance. Photosynthetica, 48(3), 409-416. doi: 10.1007/s11099-010-0053-0.
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