Effects of narrow-beam irradiations with blue and far-red light on the timing of cell division in Adiantum gametophytes.

Protonemata of the fern Adiantum capillusveneris L., grown as single-cell filaments under continuous red light, were irradiated with a narrow beam of blue light. Only irradiation of the region containing the nucleus induced cell division. Beams of 30 μm in width, which corresponds to the diameter of the nucleus, or wider, were equally effective; beams 10 μm wide or less were less effective. The results indicate that the nuclear region is the site of the blue- and near ultraviolet-light-absorbing pigment (PB-NUV) which mediates the timing effect of cell division. In contrast, the effect of a narrow beam of far-red (FR) light, which delays the onset of the blue-light-induced cell division, was found to be present along the entire length of the protonema cell, including the largely vacuolated basal region of the latter. Polarized FR light having the electrical vector parallel to the protonema axis was less effective than that vibrating in other directions. These observations support the hypothesis that the phytochrome controlling the timing effect is localized in the plasma membrane.