Water availability is a major limiting factor in desert ecosystems. However, a winter snowfall role in the growth of biological soil crusts is still less investigated. Here, four snow treatments were designed to evaluate the effects of snow depth on photosynthesis and physiological characteristics of biological soil crusts. Results showed that snow strongly affected the chlorophyll fluorescence properties. The increased snow depth led to increased contents of photosynthetic pigments and soluble proteins. However, all biological soil crusts also exhibited a decline in malondialdehyde and soluble sugar contents as snow increased. Results demonstrated that different biological soil crusts exhibited different responses to snow depth treatment due to differences in their morphological characteristics and microhabitat. In addition, interspecies differentiation in response to snow depth treatment might affect the survival of some biological soil crusts. Further, this influence might lead to changes in the structural composition and functional communities of biological soil crusts., R. Hui, R. M. Zhao, L. C. Liu, Y. X. Li, H. T. Yang, Y. L. Wang, M. Xie, X. Q. Wang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were grown in nutrient solution culture containing 0, 5, and 20 μM cadmium (Cd) and the effects on various aspects of photosynthesis were investigated after 24, 48, 96 and 168 h of Cd treatments. Photosynthetic rate (PN) decreased after 48 h of 20 μM Cd and 96 h of 5μM Cd addition, respectively. Chl a and total Chl content in leaves declined under 48 h of Cd exposure. Chl b content decreased on extending the period of Cd exposure to 96 h. The maximum quantum efficiency and potential photosynthetic capacity of PSII, indicated by Fv/Fm and Fv/Fo, respectively, were depressed after 96 h onset of Cd exposure. After 48 h of 5μM Cd and 24 h of 20 μM Cd treatments, the activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco, EC 4.1.39) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC, EC 4.1.1.31) in the leaves started to decrease, respectively. We found that the limitation of photosynthetic capacity in Cd stressed maize leaves was associated with Cd toxicity on the light and the dark stages. However, Cd stress initially reduced the activities of Rubisco and PEPC and subsequently affected the PSII electron transfer, suggesting that the Calvin cycle reactions in maize plants are the primary target of the Cd toxic effect rather than PSII. and H. Wang ... [et al.].
The effects of Mn-deficiency on CO2 assimilation and excitation energy distribution were studied using Mn-starved maize leaves. Mn-deficiency caused about 70 % loss in the photon-saturated net photosynthetic rate (PN) compared to control leaves. The loss of PN was associated with a strong decrease in the activity of oxygen evolution complex (OEC) and the linear electron transport driven by photosystem 2 (PS2) in Mn-deficienct leaves. The photochemical quenching of PS2 (qP) and the maximum efficiency of PS2 photochemistry (Fv/Fm) decreased significantly in Mn-starved leaves under high irradiance, implicating that serious photoinhibition took place. However, the 'high-energy' fluorescence quenching (qE) decreased, which was associated with xanthophyll cycle. The results showed that the pool of de-epoxidation components of the xanthophyll cycle was lowered markedly owing to Mn deficiency. Linear electron transport driven by PS2 de-creased significantly and was approximately 70 % lower in Mn-deficient leaves than that in control, indicating less trans-thylakoid pH gradient was built in Mn deficient leaves. We suggest that the decrease of non-radiative dissipation depending on xanthophyll cycle in Mn-starved leaves is a result of the deficiency of trans-thylakoid pH gradient. and C. D. Jiang, H. Y. Gao, Q. Zou.
To investigate whether brassinosteroids (BRs) could be used to alleviate chill-induced inhibition of photosynthesis in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L) during chilling and subsequent recovery, the effects of exogenously applied 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) on gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, and antioxidant enzyme activity were studied. Cucumber plants were exposed to chilling under low light (12/8°C and 100 μmol m-2 s-1 PPFD) for 3 days and then recovered under normal temperature and high irradiance (28/18°C and 600 μmol m-2 s-1 PPFD) for 6 days. Chilling significantly decreased the net photosynthetic rate (PN) and stomatal conductance (g s), and increased rate of O2 .- formation and H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in cucumber leaves, but did not influence the optimal quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm). Chilling also decreased the effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (ΦPSII) and photochemical quenching (qP), but induced an increase in nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). High irradiance (600 μmol m-2 s-1) further aggravated the decrease in PN, gs, ΦPSII and qP, and enhanced the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and accumulation in the first day of recovery after chilling. However, high irradiance induced a sharp decrease in Fv/Fm and NPQ, as well as the activities of SOD and APX on the first day of recovery. EBR pretreatment significantly alleviated chill-induced inhibition of photosynthesis during chilling stress and subsequent recovery period, which was mainly due to significant increases in gs, ΦPSII, qP and NPQ. EBR pretreatment also reduced ROS generation and accumulation, and increased the activities of SOD and APX during chilling and subsequent recovery. Those results suggest that EBR pretreatment alleviates the chill reduction in photosynthesis and accelerated the recovery rate mainly by increasing of the stomatal conductance, the efficiency of utilization and dissipation of leaf absorbed light, and the activity of the ROS scavenging system during chilling and subsequent recovery period. and W. H. Hu ... [et al.].
A long growing season, mediated by the ability to grow at low temperatures early in the season, can result in higher yields in biomass of crop Miscanthus. In this paper, the chilling tolerance of two highly productive Miscanthus genotypes, the widely planted Miscanthus × giganteus and the Miscanthus sinensis genotype ‘Goliath’, was studied. Measurements in the field as well as under controlled conditions were combined with the main purpose to create basic comparison tools in order to investigate chilling tolerance in Miscanthus in relation to its field performance. Under field conditions, M. × giganteus was higher yielding and had a faster growth rate early in the growing season. Correspondingly, M. × giganteus displayed a less drastic reduction of the leaf elongation rate and of net photosynthesis under continuous chilling stress conditions in the growth chamber. This was accompanied by higher photochemical quenching and lower nonphotochemical quenching in M. × giganteus than that in M. sinensis ‘Goliath’ when exposed to chilling temperatures. No evidence of impaired stomatal conductance or increased use of alternative electron sinks was observed under chilling stress. Soluble sugar content markedly increased in both genotypes when grown at 12°C compared to 20°C. The concentration of raffinose showed the largest relative increase at 12°C, possibly serving as a protection against chilling stress. Overall, both genotypes showed high chilling tolerance for C4 plants, but M. × giganteus performed better than M. sinensis ‘Goliath’. This was not due to its capacity to resume growth earlier in the season but rather due to a higher growth rate and higher photosynthetic efficiency at low temperatures., S. Fonteyne, P. Lootens, H. Muylle, W. van den Ende, T. de Swaef, D. Reheul, I. Roldan-Ruiz., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
We compared the sensitivity to cold stress, in terms of photosynthetic capacity and changes in chlorophyll fluorescence of photosystem 2 (PS2), of an evergreen and a deciduous oak species, which co-occur in the southeastern United States. We predicted that the evergreen species, Quercus virginiana, which must endure winter, is likely to have an inherently greater capacity for energy dissipation and to be less susceptible to chilling stress than the deciduous species, Quercus michauxii. Short-term cold stress in both species lead to greater than 50 % reduction in maximum photosynthetic rates, 60-70 % reduction in electron transport, and irreversible quenching of PS2 fluorescence. The kinetics of recovery in the dark after exposure to 1 h high irradiance (1000 µmol m-2 s-1) and chilling (5 °C) showed that the evergreen Q. virginiana exhibited more protective qE and less irreversible quenching (qI) than the deciduous Q. michauxii. The large qE which we observed in Q. virginiana suggests that the capacity for photoprotection at low temperatures is not induced by a long-term acclimation to cold but preexists in evergreen leaves. This capacity may contribute to the ability of this species to maintain leaves during the winter. and J. Cavender-Bares ... [et al.].
a1_Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes in plant biology and in the development of new methodologies that allow a better understanding and characterization of the photosynthetic status of organisms, which is invaluable. Flow cytometry (FCM) is an excellent tool for measuring fluorescence and physical proprieties of particles but it has seldom been used in photosynthetic studies and thus the full extent of its potentialities, in this field of research, remains unknown. To determine the suitability of FCM in photosynthesis studies, pea plants were exposed to Paraquat and their status was analyzed during 24 h. FCM was used to evaluate the integrity (volume and internal complexity) and the relative fluorescence intensity (FL) of chloroplasts extracted from those plants. To elucidate which type of information the FL conveys, FL values were correlated with the minimum fluorescence level (F0), maximum fluorescence level (Fm) and maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), obtained by using Pulse-Amplitude-Modulation (PAM) fluorometry. Results indicate that: (1) the biomarkers used to evaluate the structural integrity of the chloroplasts were more sensitive to Paraquat exposure than the ones related to fluorescence; (2) the variation of the chloroplast’s structure, as time progressed, pointed to a swelling and subsequent burst of the chloroplast which, in turn, compromised fluorescence emission; (3) FL presented a high and significant correlation with the Fv/Fm and to a lesser degree with Fm but not with F0; (4) pigment content did not reveal significant changes in response to Paraquat exposure and is in agreement with the proposed model, suggesting that the cause for fluorescence decrease is due to chloroplast disruption., a2_In sum, FCM proved to be an outstanding technique to evaluate chloroplastidal functional and structural status and therefore it should be regarded as a valuable asset in the field of photosynthetic research., E. Rodriguez ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The chilling and light stresses were experimentally created to explore photosynthesis of Fraxinus mandshurica seedlings in northeast China. Net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate decreased significantly with the decline of temperature and light. Significant interaction effects of light and chilling were observed on gas exchange of photosynthesis. The minimal fluorescence yield of the dark-adapted state (F0) increased with increasing light and decreasing temperature. Both high and low light stresses induced the decreases of the maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), and electron transport rate. Decline of Fv/Fm and increased F0 were observed under decreasing temperatures. Decreased NPQ and qP at frost temperature suggest that F. mandschurica failed to dissipate excess light energy. No interactive effects of chilling and light on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters suggests that F. mandschurica seedlings might be adapted to combined stresses of light and chilling., X. F. Li, L. Jin, C. Y. Zhu, Y. J. Wen, Y. Wang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The impact of drought stress (DS) on eight Eurasian and North African genotypes of wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) was evaluated by analysis of chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence fast induction curves using the JIP-test. Three-week-old, pot-grown plants were exposed to a DS treatment by withholding water for nine days. The genotype-specific impairment of the functionality of the photosynthetic electron transport chain was quantified using the relative decline of the performance indices (PIabs and PItot), two key parameters of the JIP-test. The genotypes showing the highest (HOR10164) and lowest (HOR10710) relative PIs under DS were subjected to additional experiments, including measurements of leaf gas exchange, water status, pigment content, key enzyme activity, and protein abundance. The genotypes showed a specific profile of DS-mediated inhibition of photosynthesis, associated with higher relative leaf water contents in HOR10164 at the end of the treatment. Whereas decreased photosynthetic rate in HOR10164 was mainly caused by stomatal closure, nonstomatal limitations (decreased Rubisco content and activity) were detected in HOR10710. Additional genotype specific features were the upregulation of the NADP-malate dehydrogenase in HOR10164 and a decreased fraction of QA-reducing reaction centers in HOR10710., C. Jedmowski, S. Bayramov, W. Brüggemann., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of our study was to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of exogenously supplied trehalose affecting wheat photosynthesis under heat stress. The amount of ATP synthase (ATPase), oxygen-evolving enhancer protein (OEE), PsbP, Rubisco, chloroplast fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (FBPA), and ferredoxin-NADP(H) oxidoreductase (FNR) were downregulated, while PSI reaction center subunits were upregulated under heat stress. However, in the trehalose-pretreated groups, the amount of FNR, cytochrome b6f complex, PSI reaction center subunits, ATPase, FBPA, and Rubisco were upregulated under normal growth conditions and heat stress. Besides, during the recovery period, the upregulation in CAB, PsbP, OEE2, and ATPase suggested that trehalose pretreatment might help to the recovery of PSII and PSI. These results indicate that trehalose pretreatment effectively regulates the levels of the photosynthesis-related proteins and relieves the damage of heat stress to wheat chloroplast., Y. Luo, H. Y. Liu, Y. Z. Fan, W. Wang, Y. Y. Zhao., and Obsahuje bibliografii