| Summary: | The early light-induced proteins (ELIPs) are postulated to act as transient pigment-binding proteins that protect the chloroplast from photodamage caused by excessive light energy. Desert mosses such as <i>Syntrichia caninervis</i>, that are desiccation-tolerant and homoiochlorophyllous, are often exposed to high-light conditions when both hydrated and dry <i>ELIP</i> transcripts are accumulated in response to dehydration. To gain further insights into <i>ELIP</i> gene function in the moss <i>S. caninervis</i>, two <i>ELIP</i> cDNAs cloned from <i>S. caninervis</i>, <i>ScELIP1</i> and <i>ScELIP2</i> and both sequences were used as the basis of a transcript abundance assessment in plants exposed to high-light, UV-A, UV-B, red-light, and blue-light. <i>ScELIPs</i> were expressed separately in an <i>Arabidopsis</i> <i>ELIP</i> mutant <i>Atelip</i>. Transcript abundance for <i>ScELIPs</i> in gametophytes respond to each of the light treatments, in similar but not in identical ways. Ectopic expression of either <i>ScELIPs</i> protected PSII against photoinhibition and stabilized leaf chlorophyll content and thus partially complementing the loss of <i>AtELIP2.</i> Ectopic expression of <i>ScELIPs</i> also complements the germination phenotype of the mutant and improves protection of the photosynthetic apparatus of transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i> from high-light stress. Our study extends knowledge of bryophyte photoprotection and provides further insight into the molecular mechanisms related to the function of ELIPs.
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