In vivo chlorophyll fluorescence as a probe of photosynthetic physiology

Abstract

In vivo chlorophyll (chl) fluorescence is an intrinsic property of all photosynthetic organisms including bacteria, algae and higher plants. Because fluorescence competes with photochemistry and regulatory processes for absorbed light energy, it has been widely used as a probe of the photosynthetic reactions in both laboratory and field studies (Sivak & Walker, 1985; Bolhar-Nordenkampf et al., 1989). The tight coupling of primary photochemistry and electron transport to the dark reactions of photosynthesis (Foyer et al., 1990) provides a broader link between fluorescence measurements and a wide variety of physiological processes in plants including carbon metabolism, gas exchange, photorespiration, photoinhibition and quantum yield. In addition, fluorescence measurements have proven to be extremely useful in prediction and analysis of the effects of environmental stress (Krause & Weis, 1984).