Measuring the dynamic response of the thylakoid architecture in plant leaves by electron microscopy

The performance of the photosynthesis machinery in plants, including light harvesting, electron transport, and protein repair, is controlled by structural changes in the thylakoid membrane system inside the chloroplasts. In particular, the structure of the stacked grana area of thylakoid membranes is highly dynamic, changing in response to different environmental cues such as light intensity. For example, the aqueous thylakoid lumen enclosed by thylakoid membranes in grana has been documented to swell in the presence of light. However, light-induced alteration of the stromal gap in the stacked grana (partition gap) and of the unstacked stroma lamellae has not been well characterized. Light-induced changes in the entire thylakoid membrane system, including the lumen in both stacked and unstacked domains as well as the partition gap, are presented here, and the functional implications are discussed. This structural analysis was made possible by development of a robust semi-automated image analysis method combined with optimized plant tissue fixation techniques for transmission electron microscopy generating quantitative structural results for the analysis of thylakoid ultrastructure.

A methodical pipeline ranging from optimized leaf tissue preparation for electron microscopy to quantitative image analysis was established. This methodical development was employed to study details of light-induced changes in the plant thylakoid ultrastructure. It was found that the lumen of the entire thylakoid system (stacked and unstacked domains) undergoes light-induced swelling, whereas adjacent membranes on the stroma side in stacked grana thylakoid approach each other.