Photosynthetic Properties of Dark-bleached Cells of the Newly Established Line from the Liverwort, Marchantia paleacea var. diptera

Summary A cell suspension culture of a second cell line (yellow line) from the liverwort Marchantia paleacea var. diptera was established and its photosynthetic properties in the light and dark were characterized. The light-grown cells of the yellow line had a high chlorophyll content and showed high activity of photo-synthetic O 2 evolution, but chlorophyll content of the dark-grown cells was ten-fold less than that of the light-grown cells. However, in the previously isolated green line there is no difference in chlorophyll content between the two growth conditions. In contrast to the green line, cells of the yellow line were able to redifferentiate to whole plants. Photosynthetic O 2 evolving activity on a dry weight basis in dark-grown cells of the yellow line was over twenty-fold less than that in light-grown cells, while on a chlorophyll basis their activity was comparable. Clear activity of PS-I and PS-II was found in thylakoid membranes from dark-grown cells of the yellow line.