Chloroplast Distribution in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Depends on Light Conditions during Growth.

Chloroplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana move in response to blue light. Sensitivity to light and the range of fluence rates to which the chloroplasts respond were found to be comparable to those of other higher plants studied. We investigated typical chloroplast distributions in Arabidopsis grown under three different light conditions:standard-light conditions, similar to natural light intensities; weak-light intensities, close to the compensation point of photosynthesis; and strong-light intensities, close to the saturation of the light-response curve of photosynthesis. We observed a striking difference in chloroplast arrangement in darkness between plants grown under weak- and strong-light conditions. There was a slight difference after weak-light pretreatment, and the arrangements of chloroplasts after strong-light pretreatment in both plant groups were very similar. These results support the ecological significance of chloroplast movements.