Effects of supplementary UV-B radiation on growth and protein biosyntheses in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

We examined the effects of supplementary ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation on the changes in synthesis and degradation of ribulose-I, 5-biphosphate carboxylase /oxygenase (Rubisco) and light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein of PSII (LHCII), as well as mRNA levels for small and large subunits of Rubisco (rbcS and rbcL, respectively) and LHCII (cab) with leaf age in UV-sensitive rice (Norin I) and UV-resistant rice (Sasanishiki). Both Rubisco and LHCII were actively synthesized until the leaf had fully expanded, and then decreased with leaf age. Synthesis of Rubisco, but not LHCII, was significantly suppressed by UV-B in Norin 1. The degradation of Rubisco was enhanced by UV-B around the time of the leaf maturation in the two cultivars. The levels of rbcS and rbcL were reduced by UV-B at the early leaf stages after emergence in both cultivars. The level of cab was first present at the highest level in the two cultivars, but drastically decreased due to UV-B treatment immediately after leaf emergence in Norin 1. It was proved that synthesis and degradation of Rubisco and LHCII greatly changed with leaf age: Rubisco synthesis was significantly suppressed by supplementary UV-B radiation at the transcription step during the early leaf stages. It was also suggested that the difference between the two rice cultivars in sensitivity to UV-B in the synthesis of Rubisco might be due to the specific suppression not only after transcription but also at transcription.