Induction kinetics of photosystem I-activated P700 oxidation in plant leaves and their dependence on pre-energization

Abstract

Absorbance changes ΔA810 were measured in pea (Pisum sativum L., cv. Premium) leaves to track redox transients of chlorophyll P700 during and after irradiation with far red (FR) light under various preillumination conditions in the absence and presence of inhibitors and protonophorous uncoupler of photosynthetic electron transport. It was shown that cyclic electron transport (CET) in chloroplasts of pea leaves operates at its highest rate after preillumination of leaves with white light and is strongly suppressed after preillumination with FR light. The FR light-induced suppression was partly released during prolonged dark adaptation. Upon FR illumination of dark-adapted leaves, the induction of CET was observed, during which CET activity increased to the peak from the low level and then decreased gradually. The kinetics of P700 oxidation induced by FR light of various intensities in leaves preilluminated with white light were fit to empirical sigmoid curves containing two variables. In leaves treated with a protonophore FCCP, the amplitude of FR light-induced changes ΔA810 was strongly suppressed, indicating that the rate of CET is controlled by the pH gradient across the thylakoid membrane.