Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Using Changes in Leaf Transmission to Investigate Chloroplast Movement in Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: July 14, 2021
Light absorption by isolated chloroplasts and leaves: effects of scattering and 'packing'
Mark N Merzlyak1, Olga B Chivkunova, Tatiana V Zhigalova
1Department of Physiology of Microorganisms, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia. m_merzlyak@mail.ru
Abstract:
Light absorption was quantified in the following systems: isolated chloroplasts and leaves of spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.), a mutant of geranium (Pelargonium zonale L.) widely differing in pigment content, and coleus (Coleus blumei Benth.) at different stages of leaf ontogenesis. For these species and pea (Pisum sativum L.), scattering-compensated absorption spectra of chloroplast suspensions are presented. Comparison of leaf and chloroplast spectra showed considerable changes in the extent of the 'package' effect and the lengthening of the effective optical path in a leaf. The difference between leaf and isolated chloroplast absorption could be quantitatively described by adapting Duysens's treatment of flattening. It was found that the accumulation of chlorophyll in leaves is accompanied by a monotonous enhancement of the package effect. The results are discussed with special reference to the role of light scattering in leaf optics, light utilization in photosynthesis and wavelength-dependent light gradients in a leaf.
Related Concept Videos
Light Acquisition
Anatomy of Chloroplasts
Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
The Anatomy of Chloroplasts
Structure of Chloroplasts
A...
The Antenna Complex
Light as Energy
Photons
A photon is a discrete electromagnetic particle or bundle of energy. Photons are characterized by their frequency, wavelength, and amplitude, similar to the properties of a wave. Waves with higher frequencies transmit more energy and have shorter wavelengths than longer wavelengths that transmit less...

