Variation in thylakoid proteins and photosynthesis in Syrian landraces of barley

Summary Barley breeders at ICARDA have observed that genotypes adapted to dry regions have leaves which are lighter in colour than those of unadapted ones. We measured photosynthesis, chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a:b ratios in two sets of genotypes which had previously been observed to have either light green or dark green leaves when grown in the field. Thylakoid membranes were also extracted and the proteins analysed on SDS-PAGE gels.The light leaf colour was associated with a higher chlorophyll a:b ratio. This was a measure of a reduction in the amount of antenna chlorophyll compared to that in the core complex of PSII. Genotypes with light green leaves had consistently less chlorophyll per unit leaf area and lower photosynthetic rates per unit area than those with dark green leaves.It is suggested that these features of light green leaves may confer the ability to adapt to high levels of irradiance under drought conditions. This ability may result from a high rate of photosynthetic electron transport through each PSII reaction centre, thus reducing the risk of damage from the overexcitation of these centres.