Operation and regulation of the lutein epoxide cycle in seedlings of Ocotea foetens
Raquel Esteban A D , Shizue Matsubara B , María Soledad Jiménez C , Domingo Morales C , Patricia Brito C , Roberto Lorenzo C , Beatriz Fernández-Marín A , José María Becerril A and José Ignacio García-Plazaola AA Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad del País Vasco EHU, Apdo. 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain.
B Institut für Phytosphäre (ICG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
C Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Universidad de La Laguna, 38207 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
D Corresponding author. Email: raquel.esteban@ehu.es
Functional Plant Biology 37(9) 859-869 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP10014
Submitted: 19 January 2010 Accepted: 13 May 2010 Published: 24 August 2010
Abstract
Two xanthophyll cycles are present in higher plants: the ubiquitous violaxanthin (V) cycle and the taxonomically restricted lutein epoxide (Lx) cycle. Conversions of V to zeaxanthin (Z) in the first and Lx to lutein (L) in the second happen in parallel under illumination. Unlike the V cycle, in which full epoxidation is completed overnight, in the Lx cycle, this reaction has been described as irreversible on a daily basis in most species (the ‘truncated’ Lx cycle). However, there are some species that display complete restoration of Lx overnight (‘true’ Lx cycle). So far, little is known about the physiological meaning of these two versions of the Lx cycle. Therefore, in the present work, the ‘true’ Lx cycle operation was studied in seedlings of Ocotea foetens (Aiton) Benth. under controlled and field conditions. Complete overnight recovery of the Lx pool in the presence of norfluorazon suggested that the inter-conversions between Lx and L represent a true cycle in this species. Furthermore, Lx responded dynamically to environmental conditions during long-term acclimation. Our data demonstrate the operation of a ‘true’ Lx cycle and, for the first time, its potential involvement in the regulation of non-photochemical quenching in situ. We propose dual regulation of Lx cycle in O. foetens, in which the extent of Lx restoration depends on the intensity and duration of illumination.
Additional keywords: de-epoxidation, epoxidation, laurel forest, xanthophyll cycles, violaxanthin.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge B. Olascoaga (Basque Country University) for help during sampling and analyses, J. M. Olano for statistical advice, and the anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions regarding the manuscript. R.E. and B.F.M. received a fellowship from the Basque Government. R.E. received a grant from the Basque Government to make a visit to the ICG-3 (EC-2008–1-6). This research was supported by research BFU 2007–62637 from the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain, and research project UPV/EHU-GV IT-299–07.
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