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Updated: May 31, 2026

Using Changes in Leaf Transmission to Investigate Chloroplast Movement in Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: July 14, 2021
Distribution pattern changes of actin filaments during chloroplast movement in Adiantum capillus-veneris
Hidenori Tsuboi1, Masamitsu Wada
1Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
Abstract:
Chloroplasts change their positions in a cell in response to light intensities. The photoreceptors involved in chloroplast photo-relocation movements and the behavior of chloroplasts during their migration were identified in our previous studies, but the mechanism of movement has yet to be clarified. In this study, the behavior of actin filaments under various light conditions was observed in Adiantum capillus-veneris gametophytes. In chloroplasts staying in one place under a weak light condition and not moving, circular structures composed of actin filaments were observed around the chloroplast periphery. In contrast, short actin filaments were observed at the leading edge of moving chloroplasts induced by partial cell irradiation. In the dark, the circular structures found under the weak light condition disappeared and then reappeared around the moving chloroplasts. Mutant analyses revealed that the disappearance of the circular actin structure was mediated by the blue light photoreceptor, phototropin2.
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