Heat-Induced Increase in the Tolerance of the Wheat Photosynthetic Apparatus to Combined Action of High Temperature and Visible Light: CO2Fixation, Photosynthetic Pigments, and Chloroplast Ultrastructure

Abstract

Heating of the leaves of 15-day-old wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants at 42°C in the light (370 W/m2 PAR) suppressed their ability to fix CO2 twice stronger than heating in darkness. Heat hardening (3 h at 38–39°C) improved the tolerance of photosynthesis to combined action of high light and temperature but did not affect the tolerance to photoinhibition at 30°C. Hardening did not induce changes in the levels of photosynthetic pigments and their ratios. De-epoxidation of violaxanthin turned out to be more tolerant to photoinhibition at 42°C than CO2 fixation. Protective effect of hardening was not related to the accumulation of zeaxanthin and activation of the xanthophyll cycle. Hardening protected the most sensitive population of chloroplasts against heat-induced photodamage and simultaneously increased the number and length of thylakoids. An increase in the volume of the thylakoid system was also induced by heating at 42°C and exposure to high light at 30°C. The formation of additional thylakoids and grana of shade type was not associated with improved tolerance of photosynthesis to heat and light stresses.