Blue light-induced orientation movements of chloroplasts in higher plants: Recent progress in the study of their mechanisms

The discovery of phototropins, photoreceptors for chloroplast responses in Arabidopsis thaliana, brought about renewed interest in these blue light-controlled movements. Recent progress in research on their mechanisms in higher plants is briefly summarized. Phototropins mediate phototropism, chloroplast relocations and stomatal movements. Their functions are partially overlapping, with phot1 active predominantly in weak light and phot2 active in strong light. The accumulation response of chloroplasts appears to be mediated by phot1 and phot2 whereas the avoidance response is controlled by phot2. The role of Ca2+ as a potential intracellular messenger has been discussed in view of the recently demonstrated blue light-induced transient increases in the cytosolic Ca2+ mediated differently by phot1 and phot2. Differential inhibition of accumulation and avoidance responses by wortmannin, the inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3 kinases, in Lemna trisulca points to an important role of these enzymes in the signal transduction. A new, multi-domain component controlling chloroplast positioning and movement, CHUP1, encodes an actin-binding protein in Arabidopsis.