Abstract: Thylakoid membranes of chloroplast from first leaf and flag leaf of wheat Warigal were examined by freeze-fracture and rotary shadowing etectron microscopy. The shape, size, density and size distribution of freeze-fracture partieles of their four faces were measured and plotted as three-dimensional histograms by a Hewlett-packard 9874 A digitizer with a HP 9845 B Computer and HP 9872 C plotter. When comparisons were made among different fracture faces and between the corresponding faces of the first leaf and the flag leaf, we found that the supramolecular architecture on the four fracture faces of the flag leaf differs from that on the corresponding faces of the chloroplast thytakoid membranes of the first leaf. The most significant difference was that the EFs particles contain the photosystem Ⅱ reaction centres associated with LHCP and the PFs particles were mostly light-harvesting complex. There was a 15% increase in EFs particle density, a 22% increase in PFs particle density and a 28% increase in EFu particle density. The large PFu particles contained the photosystem Ⅰ reaction centre and the flag lcaves contained 5% more than the first leaves. In addition, the stacking of thylakoid membranes in the flag leaf was 5% more than those in the first leaf.Thus, it provides theoretical basis for the fact that the flag leaf has higher photosynthetic rate.

Key words: Wheat Warigal, Flag leaf, Chloroplast, Thylakoid membrane, Freeze-fracture, Rotary shadowing, Computer, Supramolecular architecture