Arabidopsis thaliana acclimation to fluctuating light

Plants are subjected to perpetual fluctuations of light intensity and spectral composition in their natural growth environment, particularly due to movement of clouds and upper canopy leaves. Sudden exposure to intense light is accompanied by absorption of excess light energy, which results in an overload of photosynthetic electron transport chain and generation of reactive oxygen species in and around thylakoid membranes. To cope with this photooxidative stress and to prevent chronic photoinhibition under dynamically changing light intensities, plants have evolved various short- and long-term photoprotective mechanisms. We used quantitative mass spectrometry to investigate long-term acclimation of Arabidopsis thaliana leaf proteome to fluctuating light (FL) which induces photooxidative stress. After three days of FL exposure the proteomes of young and mature leaves were analyzed separately in the morning and at the end of day to examine possible interaction between FL acclimation and leaf development or time of day.