Relationship between efficiency of photosynthetic energy conversion and chlorophyll fluorescence quenching in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Late summer photosynthesis and storage carbohydrates in walnut (Juglans regia L.): Feed-back and feed-forward effects

The effect of late summer - autumn limitation of phloem export on growth, photosynthesis and storage carbohydrate accumulation, was evaluated in walnut (Juglans regia L.). This was done by girdling current years shoots, with either all or with only a third of the leaves left in place. Nineteen days after girdling, photosynthesis was greatly reduced and after 46 days, it was about 70% lower in both girdling treatments compared to the control (ungirdled shoots). This reduction is consistent with a feed-back effect of an increased carbohydrate content of the leaves. At the end of the experiment (46 days after girdling), the radial growth of girdled shoots was increased at their base but not at their apical part compared to the control. Girdling increased the accumulation of sucrose in the bark at the base of the shoot and of starch in the bark and in the wood of the shoot apical part. The activity of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in wood increased in the apical part of girdled shoots. The results suggest that a high availability of carbohydrates elicits a feed-forward action on the shoot sink size and activity (radial growth and storage carbohydrate accumulation). Further, for the first time in tree wood we found an increased total activity of AGP induced by an increased assimilate availability. Moreover, the results indicated that, in late summer - autumn, CO₂ uptake by leaves of the deciduous tree walnut is strongly dependent on export of photosynthates from the crown. Therefore, carbon uptake in this period depends largely on the availability of effective storage sinks where newly produced assimilates can be accumulated.

Applying Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) fluorometry to microalgae suspensions: stirring potentially impacts fluorescence

The use of microalgae suspensions in PAM-fluorometers such as the Water-PAM (Walz GmbH, Germany) presents the problem of maintaining a homogeneous sample. The Water-PAM is marketed with an optional accessory for stirring the sample within the cuvette while in the emitter-detector (ED) unit. This stirring device can help to prevent cells from settling out of suspension over the time-course of chlorophyll-a fluorescence measurements. The ED unit was found to provide a vertically heterogeneous light environment and, therefore, cells within a single sample can exist in different quenched states. Enhancing cell movement by stirring was found to substantially influence measured fluorescence yield while performing induction curve and rapid light curve analyses. This is likely to result from relatively unquenched cells outside the main light-path moving into a higher light region and thus emitting disproportionately more fluorescence than quenched cells. Samples containing cells with high sinking rates or motile species may encounter similar (but reduced) problems. This effect can be mitigated by: (a) reducing analysis time to minimise the distance cells can sink/swim during the measurement procedure and avoiding the necessity of stirring; (b) limiting the proportion of sample outside the light path by minimising sample volume or; (c) by activating the stirrer only for short periods between saturation pulses and allowing enough time after stirring for quenching to stabilise before activation of the saturation pulse. Alternatively, modifications to the instrument providing a vertical dimension to the LED-array could resolve the issue by providing a more homogeneous light environment for the sample.

Temperature dependence of violaxanthin de-epoxidation and non-photochemical fluorescence quenching in intact leaves of Gossypium hirsutum L. and Malva parviflora L

The temperature dependence of the rate of de-epoxidation of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin was determined in leaves of chilling-sensitive Gossypium hirsutum L. (cotton) and chilling-resistant Malva parviflora L. by measurements of the increase in absorbance at 505 nm (ΔA 505) and in the contents of antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin that occur upon exposure of predarkened leaves to excessive light. A linear relationship between ΔA 505 and the decrease in the epoxidation state of the xanthophyll-cycle pigment pool was obtained over the range 10-40° C. The maximal rate of de-epoxidation was strongly temperature dependent; Q10 measured around the temperature at which the leaf had developed was 2.1-2.3 in both species. In field-grown Malva the rate of de-epoxidation at any given measurement temperature was two to three times higher in leaves developed at a relatively low temperature in the early spring than in those developed in summer. Q10 measured around 15° C was in the range 2.2-2.6 in both kinds of Malva leaves, whereas it was as high as 4.6 in cotton leaves developed at a daytime temperature of 30° C. Whereas the maximum (initial) rate of de-epoxidation showed a strong decrease with decreased temperature the degree of de-epoxidation reached in cotton leaves after a 1-2 · h exposure to a constant photon flux density increased with decreased temperature as the rate of photosynthesis decrease. The zeaxanthin content rose from 2 mmol · (mol chlorophyll)(-1) at 30° C to 61 mmol · (mol Chl)(-1) at 10° C, corresponding to a de-epoxidation of 70% of the violaxanthin pool at 10° C. The degree of de-epoxidation at each temperature was clearly related to the amount of excessive light present at that temperature. The relationship between non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence and zeaxanthin formation at different temperatures was determined for both untreated control leaves and for leaves in which zeaxanthin formation was prevented by dithiothreitol treatment. The rate of development of that portion of non-photochemical quenching which was inhibited by dithiothreitol decreased with decreasing temperature and was linearly related to the rate of zeaxanthin formation over a wide temperature range. In contrast, the rate of development of the dithiothreitol-resistant portion of non-photochemical quenching was remarkably little affected by temperature. Evidently, the kinetics of the development of non-photochemical quenching upon exposure of leaves to excessive light is therefore in large part determined by the rate of zeaxanthin formation. For reasons that remain to be determined the relaxation of dithiothreitolsensitive quenching that is normally observed upon darkening of illuminated leaves was strongly inhibited at low temperatures.

Differences in the susceptibility to light stress in two lichens forming a phycosymbiodeme, one partner possessing and one lacking the xanthophyll cycle

The effect of high light levels on the two partners of a Pseudocyphellaria phycosymbiodeme (Pseudocyphellaria rufovirescens, with a green phycobiont, and P. murrayi with a blue-green phycobiont), which naturally occurs in deep shade, was examined and found to differ between the partners. Green algae can rapidly accumulate zeaxanthin, which we suggest is involved in photoprotection, through the xanthophyll cycle. Blue-green algae lack this cycle, and P. murrayi did not contain or form any zeaxanthin under our experimental conditions. Upon illumination, the thallus lobes with green algae exhibited strong nonphotochemical fluorescence quenching indicative of the radiationless dissipation of excess excitation energy, whereas thallus lobes with blue-green algae did not possess this capacity. The reduction state of photosystem II was higher by approximately 30% at each PFD beyond the light-limiting range in the blue-green algal partner compared with the green algal partner. Furthermore, a 2-h exposure to high light levels resulted in large reductions in the efficiency of photosynthetic energy conversion which were rapidly reversible in the lichen with green algae, but were long-lasting in the lichen with blue-green algae. Changes in fluorescence characteristics indicated that the cause of the depression in photosynthetic energy conversion was a reversible increase in radiationless dissipation in the green algal partner and "photoinhibitory damage" in the blue-green algal partner. These findings represent further evidence that zeaxanthin is involved in the photoprotective dissipation of excessive excitation energy in photosynthetic membranes. The difference in the capacity for rapid zeaxanthin formation between the two partners of the Pseudocyphellaria phycosymbiodeme may be important in the habitat selection of the two species when living separate from one another.

Role of the xanthophyll cycle in photoprotection elucidated by measurements of light-induced absorbance changes, fluorescence and photosynthesis in leaves of Hedera canariensis

The role of the xanthophyll cycle in regulating the energy flow to the PS II reaction centers and therefore in photoprotection was studied by measurements of light-induced absorbance changes, Chl fluorescence, and photosynthetic O2 evolution in sun and shade leaves of Hedera canariensis. The light-induced absorbance change at 510 nm (ΔA510) was used for continuous monitoring of zeaxanthin formation by de-epoxidation of violaxanthin. Non-radiative energy dissipation (NRD) was estimated from non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (NPQ).High capacity for zeaxanthin formation in sun leaves was accompanied by large NRD in the pigment bed at high PFDs as indicated by a very strong NPQ both when all PS II centers are closed (F'm) and when all centers are open (F'o). Such Fo quenching, although present, was less pronounced in shade leaves which have a much smaller xanthophyll cycle pool.Dithiothreitol (DTT) provided through the cut petiole completely blocked zeaxanthin formation. DTT had no detectable effect on photosynthetic O2 evolution or the photochemical yield of PS II in the short term but fully inhibited the quenching of Fo and 75% of the quenching of Fm, indicating that NRD in the antenna was largely blocked. This inhibition of quenching was accompanied by an increased closure of the PS II reaction centers.In the presence of DTT a photoinhibitory treatment at a PFD of 200 μmol m(-2) s(-1), followed by a 45 min recovery period at a low PFD, caused a 35% decrease in the photon yield of O2 evolution, compared to a decrease of less than 5% in the absence of DTT. The Fv/Fm ratio, measured in darkness showed a much greater decrease in the presence than in the absence of DTT. In the presence of DTT Fo rose by 15-20% whereas no change was detected in control leaves.The results support the conclusion that the xanthophyll cycle has a central role in regulating the energy flow to the PS II reaction centers and also provide direct evidence that zeaxanthin protects against photoinhibitory injury to the photosynthetic system.

The carotenoid zeaxanthin and 'high-energy-state quenching' of chlorophyll fluorescence

The possibility that zeaxanthin mediates the dissipation of an excess of excitation energy in the antenna chlorophyll of the photochemical apparatus has been tested through the use of an inhibitor of violaxanthin de-epoxidation, dithiothreitol (DTT), as well as through the comparison of two closely related organisms (green and blue-green algal lichens), one of which (blue-green algal lichen) naturally lacks the xanthophyll cycle. In spinach leaves, DTT inhibited a major component of the rapidly relaxing high-energy-state quenching' of chlorophyll fluorescence, which was associated with a quenching of the level of initial fluorescence (F'0) and exhibited a close correlation with the zeaxanthin content of leaves when fluorescence quenching was expressed as the rate constant for radiationless energy dissipation in the antenna chlorophyll. Green algal lichens, which possess the xanthophyll cycle, exhibited the same type of fluorescence quenching as that observed in leaves. Two groups of blue-green algal lichens were used for a comparison with these green algal lichens. A group of zeaxanthin-free blue-green algal lichens did not exhibit the type of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching indicative of energy dissipation in the pigment bed. In contrast, a group of blue-green algal lichens which had formed zeaxanthin slowly through reactions other than the xanthophyll cycle, did show a very similar response to that of leaves and green algal lichens. Fluorescence quenching indicative of radiationless energy dissipation in the antenna chlorophyll was the predominant component of 'high-energy-state quenching' in spinach leaves under conditions allowing for high rates of steady-state photosynthesis. A second, but distinctly different type of 'high-energy-state quenching' of chlorophyll fluorescence, which was not inhibited by DTT (i.e., it was zeaxanthin independent) and which is possibly associated with the photosystem II reaction center, occurred in addition to that associated with zeaxanthin in leaves under a range of conditions which were less favorable for linear photosynthetic electron flow. In intact chloroplasts isolated from (zeaxanthin-free) spinach leaves a combination of these two types of rapidly reversible fluorescence quenching occurred under all conditions examined.

Leaf Xanthophyll content and composition in sun and shade determined by HPLC

As a part of our investigations to test the hypothesis that zeaxanthin formed by reversible de-epoxidation of violaxanthin serves to dissipate any excessive and potentially harmful excitation energy we determined the influence of light climate on the size of the xanthophyll cycle pool (violaxanthin + antheraxanthin + zeaxanthin) in leaves of a number of species of higher plants. The maximum amount of zeaxanthin that can be formed by de-epoxidation of violaxanthin and antheraxanthin is determined by the pool size of the xanthophyll cycle. To quantitate the individual leaf carotenoids a rapid, sensitive and accurate HPLC method was developed using a non-endcapped Zorbax ODS column, giving baseline separation of lutein and zeaxanthin as well as of other carotenoids and Chl a and b.The size of the xanthophyll cycle pool, both on a basis of light-intercepting leaf area and of light-harvesting chlorophyll, was ca. four times greater in sun-grown leaves of a group of ten sun tolerant species than in shade-grown leaves in a group of nine shade tolerant species. In contrast there were no marked or consistent differences between the two groups in the content of the other major leaf xanthophylls, lutein and neoxanthin. Also, in each of four species examined the xanthophyll pool size increased with an increase in the amount of light available during leaf development whereas there was little change in the content of the other xanthophylls. However, the α-carotene/β-carotene ratio decreased and little or no α-carotene was detected in sun-grown leaves. Among shade-grown leaves the α-carotene/β-carotene ratio was considerably higher in species deemed to be umbrophilic than in species deemed to be heliophilic.The percentage of the xanthophyll cycle pool present as violaxanthin (di-epoxy-zeaxanthin) at solar noon was 96-100% for shade-grown plants and 4-53% for sun-grown plants with zeaxanthin accounting for most of the balance. The percentage of zeaxanthin in leaves exposed to midday solar radiation was higher in those with low than in those with high photosynthetic capacity.The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the xanthophyll cycle is involved in the regulation of energy dissipation in the pigment bed, thereby preventing a buildup of excessive excitation energy at the reaction centers.