Chemical Regulation of Plastid Development. I. Inhibition of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis in Detached Pumpkin Cotyledons by CPTA. A Pigment and Ultrastructual Study

Abstract

The effects of 2-(4-chlorophenylthio)ethyldiethylammonium chloride (CPTA) on chlorophyll accumulation, carotenoid biosynthesis and plastid ultrastructure were examined in expanding excised pumpkin cotyledons. CPTA in the dark caused an increased synthesis of non-photoconvertible protochlorophyll but had no effect on the ultrastructure of the starch-containing plastids. In the light, CPTA was a powerful inhibitor of chlorophyll synthesis in greening cotyledons, especially at high light intensity, and induced the accumulation of lycopene. When applied to the greened cotyledons, CPTA caused the transformation of the chloroplasts to chromoplast-like organelles containing osmiophilic globules and lycopene crystalloids. Two other structurally similar compounds,diethyl[4-{3'-(4"-methylphenyl)-3-oxoprop-2' -enyl}phenoxyethyl]ammonium chloride (SK&F 13831) and (2-chloroethyl)trimethylammonium chloride (chlormequat), also caused lycopene accumulation and inhibited chlorophyll synthesis. It is possible that CPTA can induce the formation of chromoplasts from proplastids and chloroplasts in tissue that does not normally contain such organelles.