Exposure of high-light-grown cultures of Chlorella vulgaris to darkness inhibits the relaxation of excitation pressure: uncoupling of the redox state of the photosynthetic electron transport chain and phenotypic plasticity

Abstract

Chlorella vulgaris acclimated to high light (HL) conditions exhibited a pale-green phenotype characterized by reduced chlorophyll and light harvesting polypeptide abundance compared with the dark green phenotype of the control, low-light-grown (LL) cultures. We hypothesized that if chloroplast redox status was the sole regulator of phenotype, exposure to darkness should cause reversion of the HL to LL phenotype. Surprisingly, HL cells transferred to darkness or dim light failed to green. Thus, phenotypic reversion is light-dependent with an optimal photon flux density (PFD) of 110 μmol photons·m−2·s−1. HL cells shifted to this PFD exhibited increased chlorophyll and light harvesting polypeptide abundance, which were inhibited by 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-benzoquinone but not by 3-(3′,4′-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. We conclude that photoacclimation of HL-grown cells to LL is governed by the redox state of the intersystem photosynthetic electron transport chain (PETC) at this PFD. At lower light levels, cells maintained the HL phenotype, despite an oxidized status of the PETC. Because 110 μmol photons·m−2·s−1 was the optimal PFD for protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase accumulation, we suggest that stabilization of light-harvesting polypeptides by chlorophyll binding may also govern photoacclimation in C. vulgaris. The possible role of the metabolic balance between respiration and photosynthesis is also discussed.