Singlet oxygen scavenging activity of tocopherol and plastochromanol in <i><scp>A</scp>rabidopsis thaliana</i>: relevance to photooxidative stress

Abstract

In the present study, singlet oxygen (¹O₂) scavenging activity of tocopherol and plastochromanol was examined in tocopherol cyclase-deficient mutant (vte1) of Arabidopsis thaliana lacking both tocopherol and plastochromanol. It is demonstrated here that suppression of tocopherol and plastochromanol synthesis in chloroplasts isolated from vte1 Arabidopsis plants enhanced ¹O₂ formation under high light illumination as monitored by electron paramagnetic resonance spin-trapping spectroscopy. The exposure of vte1 Arabidopsis plants to high light resulted in the formation of secondary lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde as determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Furthermore, it is shown here that the imaging of ultra-weak photon emission known to reflect oxidation of lipids was unambiguously higher in vte1 Arabidopsis plants. Our results indicate that tocopherol and plastochromanol act as efficient ¹O₂ scavengers and protect effectively lipids against photooxidative damage in Arabidopsis plants.