Abstract
Chloroplast is an organelle that is important for growth of plants. In this study, to understand the molecular mechanism of the chloroplast development, we identified and characterized a variegated mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, 5-31. From this mutant, two types of cotyledon, albino like and wild like ones are observed. The former died before bolting because of its inability of photosynthesis. The latter developed variegated true leaves and grew slower than wild. In the variegated leaf, the number of chloroplasts was greatly reduced. But when the mutant grows in the media supplemented with 0.3% sucrose, it's observed to increase the number of chloroplast in the white sector, resulting in a mild variegated phenotype. The recovery of the number of chloroplasts was more obvious when it grows on a 1% sucrose media. This result shows that chloroplast development in the white sector is influenced with the concentration of sugar in the cell.
