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Chlorophyll breakdown in oilseed rape

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Abstract

Chlorophyll catabolism accompanying leaf senescence is one of the most spectacular natural phenomena. Despite this fact, the metabolism of chlorophyll has been largely neglegted until recently. Oilseed rape has been used extensively as a model plant for the recent elucidating of structures of chlorophyll catabolites and for investigation of the enzymic reactions of the chlorophyll breakdown pathway. The key reaction which causes loss of green color is catalyzed in a two-step reaction by pheophorbide a oxygenase and red chlorophyll catabolite reductase. In this Minireview, we summarize the actual knowledge about catabolites and enzymes of chlorophyll catabolism in oilseed rape and discuss the significance of this pathway in respect to chlorophyll degradation during Brassica napus seed development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Biology, University of Zürich, CH-8008, Zürich, Switzerland

    Stefan Hörtensteiner

  2. Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Bernhard Kräutler

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  1. Stefan Hörtensteiner
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  2. Bernhard Kräutler
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Hörtensteiner, S., Kräutler, B. Chlorophyll breakdown in oilseed rape. Photosynthesis Research 64, 137–146 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006456310193

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