reviewAnnual Review of Plant BiologyJan 31, 2006Closed access

CHLOROPHYLL DEGRADATION DURING SENESCENCE

SHStefan Hörtensteiner

University of Bern

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

The catabolic pathway of chlorophyll (Chl) during senescence and fruit ripening leads to the accumulation of colorless breakdown products (NCCs). This review updates an earlier review on Chl breakdown published here in 1999 ( 69 ). It summarizes recent advances in the biochemical reactions of the pathway and describes the characterization of new NCCs and their formation inside the vacuole. Furthermore, I focus on the recent molecular identification of three chl catabolic enzymes, chlorophyllase, pheophorbide a oxygenase (PAO), and red Chl catabolite reductase (RCCR). The analysis of Chl catabolic mutants demonstrates the importance of Chl breakdown for plant development and survival. Mutants defective in PAO…

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876
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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Pheophorbide A
  • Biochemistry
  • Vacuole
  • Catabolism
  • Senescence
  • Catabolite repression
  • Chlorophyll
  • Mutant
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