Novel Evidence for a Reversible Dissociation of Light‐harvesting Complex II from Photosystem II Reaction Center Complex Induced by Saturating Light Illumination in Soybean Leaves

Abstract

AbstractAfter saturating light illumination for 3 h the potential photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) (Fv/Fm, the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence) decreased markedly and recovered basically to the level before saturating light illumination after dark recovery for 3 h in both soybean and wheat leaves, indicating that the decline in Fv/Fm is a reversible down‐regulation. Also, the saturating light illumination led to significant decreases in the low temperature (77 K) chlorophyll fluorescence parameters F685 (chlorophyll a fluorescence peaked at 685 nm) and F685/F735 (F735, chlorophyll a fluorescence peaked at 735 nm) in soybean leaves but not in wheat leaves. Moreover, trypsin (a protease) treatment resulted in a remarkable decrease in the amounts of PsbS protein (a nuclear gene psbS‐encoded 22 kDa protein) in the thylakoids from saturating light‐illuminated (SI), but not in those from dark‐adapted (DT) and dark‐recovered (DRT) soybean leaves. However, the treatment did not cause such a decrease in amounts of the PsbS protein in the thylakoids from saturating light‐illuminated wheat leaves. These results support the conclusion that saturating light illumination induces a reversible dissociation of some light‐harvesting complex II (LHCII) from PSII reaction center complex in soybean leaf but not in wheat leaf.