title: Development of the photosynthetic apparatus of Cunninghamia lanceolata in light and darkness.
abstract: Here, we compared the development of dark- and light-grown Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) cotyledons, which synthesize chlorophyll in the dark, representing a different phenomenon from angiosperm model plants. We determined that the grana lamellar membranes were well developed in both chloroplasts and etiochloroplasts. The accumulation of thylakoid membrane protein complexes was similar between chloroplasts and etiochloroplasts. Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters indicated that photosystem II (PSII) had low photosynthetic activities, whereas the photosystem I (PSI)-driven cyclic electron flow (CEF) rate exceeded the rate of PSII-mediated photon harvesting in etiochloroplasts. Analysis of the protein contents in etiochloroplasts indicated that the light-harvesting complex II remained mostly in its monomeric conformation. The ferredoxin NADP+oxidoreductase and NADH dehydrogenase-like complexes were relatively abundantly expressed in etiochloroplasts for Chinese fir. Our transcriptome analysis contributes a global expression database for Chinese fir cotyledons, providing background information on the regulatory mechanisms of different genes involved in the development of dark- and light-grown cotyledons. In conclusion, we provide a novel description of the early developmental status of the light-dependent and light-independent photosynthetic apparatuses in gymnosperms.
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.|College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, China.
authors.forename: Xian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Hongyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
authors.forename: Fengqin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Haoyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Hou-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Yingbai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Yinglang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D018548:Cotyledon / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D032486:Cunninghamia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D003624:Darkness; D004579:Electron Transport / Q000528:radiation effects; D005453:Fluorescence; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000528:radiation effects; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D018087:Plastids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D002734:Chlorophyll
keywords: 
  Cunninghamia lanceolata
  ; cyclic electron flow; photomorphogenesis; photosynthetic activities; photosynthetic apparatus; skotomorphogenesis