Protein composition and native state of pigments of thylakoid membrane of wheat genotypes differently tolerant to water stress.

Protein composition and native state of chlorophylls were analyzed in two wheat (Triticum durum L.) genotypes with different tolerance to drought, Barakatli-95 (drought-tolerant) and Garagylchyg-2 (drought-sensitive), during water deficit. It is shown that the plants subjected to water deficit appear to have a slight increase in alpha- and beta-subunits of CF1 ATP-synthase complex (57.5 and 55 kD, respectively) in Barakatli-95 and their lower content in Garagylchyg-2. Steady-state levels of the core antenna of PS II (CP47 and CP43) and light-harvesting Chl a/b-apoproteins (LHC) II in the 29.5-24 kD region remained more or less unchanged in both wheat genotypes. The synthesis of 36 kD protein and content of low-molecular-weight polypeptides (21.5, 16.5, and 14 kD) were noticeably increased in the tolerant genotype Barakatli-95. Drought caused significant changes in the carotenoid region of the spectrum (400-500 nm) in drought-sensitive genotype Garagylchyg-2 (especially in the content of pigments of the violaxanthin cycle). A shift of the main band from 740-742 to 738 nm is observed in the fluorescence spectra (77 K) of chloroplasts from both genotypes under water deficiency, and there is a stimulation of the ratio of fluorescence band intensity F687/F740.