Maximal Efficiency Of Photosystem II Photochemistry Research Articles

Heat stress induces a reversible inhibition of electron transport at the acceptor side of photosystem II in a cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis

The effects of high temperature (30–52.5 °C) on electron transport at the acceptor side of photosystem II (PSII) in a cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis grown at 30 °C were studied by measuring the relaxation of flash-induced variable chlorophyll fluorescence. In order to investigate the reversibility of the effects of heat stress on electron transport at the acceptor side of PSII, heat-induced effects were measured either immediately after the cells were treated at high temperature for 5 min or after the heat-treated cells were cooled down to the growth temperature and incubated for another 5 min. The maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry ( F v/ F m) decreased significantly with increasing temperature when measured immediately after the temperature treatment. F v/ F m showed only a partial recovery (5–15%) when the heat-treated cells were cooled down to the growth temperature and incubated for another 5 min. The decrease in F v/ F m was a result of a considerable increase in the minimal fluorescence yield and a significant decrease in the maximal fluorescence yield. Heat stress affected considerably the relaxation of flash-induced variable chlorophyll fluorescence. The amplitudes of the fast (≈160 μs) and the middle (≈2 s) components, assigned to electron transfer from Q A − to Q B site and the diffusion of PQ molecules to an empty Q B site, respectively, decreased significantly with increasing temperature. On the other hand, the slow component (≈4 s) due to the charge recombination from the S 2Q A − state of the water oxidation to the S 1Q A state, increased significantly. These results suggest that heat stress leads to the inhibition of electron transport from Q A − to Q B, the binding affinity of a PQ molecule to the Q B-binding site, and the increased probability of back electron transfer from Q A − to S 2 state at the expense of forward electron flow. However, these changes in the function of the acceptor side of PSII were mostly recovered after 5 min incubation at the growth temperature.

Enhanced thermotolerance of photosystem�II in salt-adapted plants of the halophyte Artemisia anethifolia

Thermotolerance of photosystem II (PSII) in leaves of salt-adapted Artemisia anethifolia L. plants (100-400 mM NaCl) was evaluated after exposure to heat stress (30-45 degrees C) for 30 min. After exposure to 30 degrees C, salt adaptation had no effects on the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (F(v)/F(m)), the efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centers (F(v)'/F(m)'), or the actual PSII efficiency (Phi(PSII)). After pretreatment at 40 degrees C, there was a striking difference in the responses of F(v)/F(m), F(v)'/F(m)' and Phi(PSII) to heat stress in non-salt-adapted and salt-adapted leaves. Leaves from salt-adapted plants maintained significantly higher values of F(v)/F(m), F(v)'/F(m)' and Phi(PSII) than those from non-salt-adapted leaves. The differences in F(v)/F(m), F(v)'/F(m)' and Phi(PSII) between non-salt-adapted and salt-adapted plants persisted for at least 12 h following heat stress. These results clearly show that thermotolerance of PSII was enhanced in salt-adapted plants. This enhanced thermotolerance was associated with an improvement in thermotolerance of the PSII reaction centers, the oxygen-evolving complexes and the light-harvesting complex. In addition, we observed that after exposure to 42.5 degrees C for 30 min, non-salt-adapted plants showed a significant decrease in CO(2) assimilation rate while in salt-adapted plants CO(2) assimilation rate was either maintained or even increased to some extent. Given that photosynthesis is considered to be the physiological process most sensitive to high-temperature damage and that PSII appears to be the most heat-sensitive part of the photosynthetic apparatus, enhanced thermotolerance of PSII may be of significance for A. anethifolia, a halophyte plant, which grows in the high-salinity regions in the north of China, where the air temperature in the summer is often as high as 45 degrees C.

Photosynthetic pigment composition and photosystem II photochemistry of wheat ears

The characteristics of pigment composition and photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry in the flag leaf and ear parts of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) grown in the field was compared. At the early stage of flowering, awns and the flag leaf showed the highest values in the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry ( F v/ F m), actual PSII efficiency (Φ PSII), photochemical quenching ( q P), and the efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centres ( F ′ v / F ′ m ), followed by glumes, lemmas, and paleae, respectively except that no differences in F ′ v / F ′ m were observed among glumes, leamms, and paleae. With progressing grain filling, there was a change in the photosynthetic pigment stoichiometry. In the ear parts, neoxanthin and antheraxanthin decreased equally with chlorophyll levels. Lutein and zeaxanthin decreased less than chlorophyll levels while β-carotene and violaxanthin decreased faster than chlorophyll levels. No big differences in pigment composition were observed among different ear parts. For the flag leaf, neoxanthin and β-carotene decreased concomitantly with chlorophyll, whereas lutein and xanthophyll cycle pigment were less affected, leading to increases in lutein/chlorophyll and xanthophyll cycle pigment/chlorophyll ratios. F v/ F m, Φ PSII, q P, and F ′ v / F ′ m decreased gradually in the flag leaf and ear parts but to different extents. The largest changes were observed in awns, followed by the lemmas of floret 2, the lemmas of floret 1, glumes, and the flag leaf, respectively. The results suggest that during grain filling, a down-regulation of PSII associated with an increase of the de-epoxidation state of the xanthophyll cycle carotenoids occurred in the flag leaf but not in the ear parts.

Photoinhibition and photoprotection in senescent leaves of field-grown wheat plants

Photosynthesis, photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry, photoinhibition and the xanthophyll cycle in the senescent flag leaves of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) plants grown in the field were investigated. Compared to the non-senescent leaves, photosynthetic capacity was significantly reduced in senescent flag leaves. The light intensity at which photosynthesis was saturated also declined significantly. The light response curves of PSII photochemistry indicate that a down-regulation of PSII photochemistry occurred in senescent leaves in particular at high light. The maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry in senescent flag leaves decreased slightly when measured at predawn but substantially at midday, suggesting that PSII function was largely maintained and photoinhibition occurred in senescent leaves when exposed to high light. At midday, PSII efficiency, photochemical quenching and the efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centers decreased considerably, while non-photochemical quenching increased significantly. Moreover, compared with the values at early morning, a greater decrease in CO 2 assimilation rate was observed at midday in senescent leaves than in control leaves. The levels of antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin via the de-epoxidation of violaxanthin increased in senescent flag leaves from predawn to midday. An increase in the xanthophyll cycle pigments relative to chlorophyll was observed in senescent flag leaves. The results suggest that the xanthophyll cycle was activated in senescent leaves due to the decrease in CO 2 assimilation capacity and the light intensity for saturation of photosynthesis and that the enhanced formation of antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin at high light may play an important role in the dissipation of excess light energy and help to protect photosynthetic apparatus from photodamage. Our results suggest that the well-known function of the xanthophyll cycle to safely dissipate excess excitation energy is also important for maintaining photosynthetic function during leaf senescence.

PSII photochemistry, thermal energy dissipation, and the xanthophyll cycle in Kalanchoë daigremontiana exposed to a combination of water stress and high light

Kalanchoë daigremontiana, a CAM plant grown in a greenhouse, was subjected to severe water stress. The changes in photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry were investigated in water‐stressed leaves. To separate water stress effects from photoinhibition, water stress was imposed at low irradiance (daily peak PFD 150 μmol m−2 s−1). There were no significant changes in the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), the traditional fluorescence induction kinetics (OIP) and the polyphasic fluorescence induction kinetics (OJIP), suggesting that water stress had no direct effects on the primary PSII photochemistry in dark‐adapted leaves. However, PSII photochemistry in light‐adapted leaves was modified in water‐stressed plants. This was shown by the decrease in the actual PSII efficiency (ΦPSII), the efficiency of excitation energy capture by open PSII centres (Fv′/Fm′), and photochemical quenching (qP), as well as a significant increase in non‐photochemical quenching (NPQ) in particular at high PFDs. In addition, photoinhibition and the xanthophyll cycle were investigated in water‐stressed leaves when exposed to 50% full sunlight and full sunlight. At midday, water stress induced a substantial decrease in Fv/Fm which was reversible. Such a decrease was greater at higher irradiance. Similar results were observed in ΦPSII, qP, and Fv′/Fm′. On the other hand, water stress induced a significant increase in NPQ and the level of zeaxanthin via the de‐epoxidation of violaxanthin and their increases were greater at higher irradiance. The results suggest that water stress led to increased susceptibility to photoinhibition which was attributed to a photoprotective process but not to a photodamage process. Such a photoprotection was associated with the enhanced formation of zeaxanthin via de‐epoxidation of violaxanthin. The results also suggest that thermal dissipation of excess energy associated with the xanthophyll cycle may be an important adaptive mechanism to help protect the photosynthetic apparatus from photoinhibitory damage for CAM plants normally growing in arid and semi‐arid areas where they are subjected to a combination of water stress and high light.

Characterization of photosynthetic pigment composition, photosystem II photochemistry and thermal energy dissipation during leaf senescence of wheat plants grown in the field.

Photosynthetic pigment composition and photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry were characterized during the flag leaf senescence of wheat plants grown in the field. During leaf senescence, neoxanthin and beta-carotene decreased concomitantly with chlorophyll, whereas lutein and xanthophyll cycle pigments were less affected, leading to increases in lutein/chlorophyll and xanthophyll cycle pigments/chlorophyll ratios. The chlorophyll a/b ratio also increased. With the progression of senescence, the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry decreased only slightly in the early morning (low light conditions), but substantially at midday (high light conditions). Actual PSII efficiency, photochemical quenching and the efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centres decreased significantly both early in the morning and at midday and such decreases were much greater at midday than in the early morning. At the same time, non-photochemical quenching, zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin contents at the expense of violaxanthin increased both early in the morning and at midday, with a greater increase at midday. The results in the present study suggest that a down-regulation of PSII occurred in senescent leaves and that the xanthophyll cycle plays a role in the protection of PSII from photoinhibitory damage in senescent leaves by dissipating excess excitation energy, particularly when exposed to high light.

Heat-induced Multiple Effects on PSII in Wheat Plants

Summary The effects of heat stress on the various functional aspects of photosystem II (PSII) were investigated by analysis of in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence in wheat ( Tritium aestivum L.) leaves exposed in the dark to a wide range of elevated temperatures (25–45°C) for 10 min. The results revealed that the effects of heat stress on PSII were characterised by two distinct domains of temperatures: moderately elevated temperatures (30–37.5°C) and severely elevated temperatures (higher than 37.5°C). In moderately elevated temperatures, no changes in the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (F 4 /F m ) and photochemical quenching (qp) were observed. The decrease in the quantum yield of PSII electron transport (psn) and the efficiency of excitation energy capture by open PSII reaction centers (Fv'/Fm') was reversible and was due to a significant increase in non-photochemical quenching (qN). In severely elevated temperatures, the further decrease in psn and Fv'/Fm' was irreversible and was associated with a decrease in FJFm, which was a result of the decrease in the oxygen-evolving complex activity and of an inhibition of electron transport at the acceptor side of PSII. Our results suggest that heat stress displayed multiple effects on PSII. The following sequential events leading to an inhibition of PSII electron transport in the descending order of sensitivity to heat stress can be proposed: excitation energy capture by open PSII reaction centers ~ the oxygenevolving complex ofPSII ~ the acceptor side of PSII.

Photoinactivation of functional photosystem II and D1-protein synthesis in vivo are independent of the modulation of the photosynthetic apparatus by growth irradiance

To investigate whether the in-vivo photoinhibition of photosystem II (PSII) function by excess light is an intrinsic property of PSII, the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and the content of functional PSII (measured by repetitive flash yield of oxygen evolution) were determined in leaves of pea (Pisum sativum L.), grown in 50 (low light), 250 (medium light), and 650 (high light) μmol photons·m−2·s−1. The modulation of PSII functionality in vivo was induced in 1.1% CO2 by varying either (i) the duration (0–2 h) of light treatment (fixed at 1800 μmol photons· m−2·s−1) or (ii) irradiance (0–3200 μmol photons·m−2·s−1) at a fixed duration (1 h), after infiltration of leaves with water (control), lincomycin (an inhibitor of chloroplast-encoded protein synthesis), or a combination of lincomycin with nigericin (an uncoupler), through the cut petioles of leaves of 22-to 24-d-old plants. The reciprocity law of irradiance and duration of illumination for PSII function in vivo (Park et al. 1995, Planta 196: 401–411) holds in all differently light-grown peas, demonstrating that inactivation of functional PSII depends on photon exposure (mol photons·m−2), not on the rate of photon absorption. In vivo, PSII acts as an intrinsic “photon counter” and at higher photon exposures is inactivated following absorption of about 3 × 107 photons. There is a functional heterogeneity of PSII in vivo with 25% less-stable PSIIs that are inactivated at low photon exposure, compared to 75% more-stable PSIIs regardless of modulation of the photosynthetic apparatus. We suggest that the less-stable PSIIs represent monomers located in the nonappressed granal margins, while the more-stable PSIIs are dimers located in the appressed grana membrane cores. The capacity for D1-protein synthesis was the same in all the light-acclimated peas and saturated at low light, indicating that D1-protein repair is also an intrinsic property of PSII. This accounts for the low intensity required for recovery of photoinhibition in sun and shade plants which is independent of light-harvesting antennae size or PSII/PSI stoichiometries.