a1_The carbon dioxide concentration in free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) systems typically has rapid fluctuations. In our FACE system, power spectral analysis of CO2 concentration measured every second with an open path analyzer indicated peaks in variation with a period of about one minute. I used
open-top chambers to expose cotton and wheat plants to either a constant elevated CO2 concentration of 180 μmol mol-1 above that of outside ambient air, or to the same mean CO2 concentration, but with the CO2 enrichment cycling between about 30 and 330 μmol mol-1 above the concentration of outside ambient air, with a period of one minute. Three short-term replicate plantings of cotton were grown in Beltsville, Maryland with these CO2 concentration treatments imposed for 27-day periods over two summers, and one winter wheat crop was grown from sowing to maturity. In cotton, leaf gas-exchange measurements of the continuously elevated treatment and the fluctuating treatment indicated that the fluctuating CO2 concentration treatment consistently resulted in substantial down-regulation of net photosynthetic rate (PN) and stomatal conductance (gs). Total shoot biomass of the vegetative cotton plants in the fluctuating CO2 concentration treatment averaged 30% less than in the constantly elevated CO2 concentration treatment at 27 days after planting. In winter wheat, leaf gas-exchange measurements also indicated that down-regulation of PN and gs occurred in flag leaves in the fluctuating CO2 concentration treatment, but the effect was not as consistent in other leaves, nor as severe as found in cotton. However, wheat grain yields were 12% less in the fluctuating CO2 concentration treatment compared with the constant elevated CO2 concentration treatment., a2_Comparison with wheat yields in chambers without CO2 addition indicated a nonsignificant increase of 5% for the fluctuating elevated CO2 concentration treatment, and a significant increase of 19% for the constant elevated treatment. The results suggest that treatments with fluctuating elevated CO2 concentrations could underestimate plant growth at projected future atmospheric CO2 concentrations., J. A. Bunce., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In a field experiment, two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, Tainong 18 (a large-spike cultivar) and Jinan 17 (a multiple-spike cultivar), were treated with 78% (S1), 50% (S2), and 10% (S3) of full sunshine (S0, control) from anthesis to maturity to determine the responses of photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidative enzyme activities in a flag leaf. Compared with S0 treatment, the chlorophyll (Chl) content and maximal efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry (Fv/Fm) of flag leaves were enhanced in treatments S1 and S2. From 0 to 7 d post flowering, the Chl content and Fv/Fm in S3 were also higher than those in S0, but significantly lower than those in controls, respectively. With the increase of shading intensity, the effective quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII) was promoted; whereas, the ratio of Chl a/b declined. Compared with S0, treatments S2 and S3 significantly suppressed the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD), net photosynthetic rate (PN), and contents of total soluble sugar, nevertheless, S1 treatment showed positive effects on the above parameters. Under the same shading condition, Jinan 17 had larger Chl content and higher activities of PSII and antioxidative enzymes, but lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content than Tainong 18. The results indicated that multiple-spike cultivar was more advantageous for the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, where shading problem occurs later during the growth period, than the large-spike cultivar, because of the lesser damage in a flag leaf and better photosynthetic function of the former one. Wheat plants under S1 shading condition had relatively high activities of antioxidative enzymes and a low degree of membrane lipid peroxidation, which was in favor of stress resistance, maintaining high PN duration, and accumulation of photosynthates in wheat plants., C. Xu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We studied photosynthetic capacity, growth, sap flow, and water-use efficiency in young trees of ‘Pink Lady’ apple (Malus domestica) that were exposed to 60 d of moisture stress. Three irrigation schemes were tested in the greenhouse: well-watered control; drought; or alternate deficit irrigation (ADI). Compared with the drought-stressed plants, those treated via ADI showed better height growth, larger scion diameters, and greater total leaf area, as well as significantly increased gains in dry biomass and rootstock diameters. However, their performance was still significantly lower than that demonstrated by continuously well-watered plants. Sap flow was greater under ADI than under drought, but less than under control conditions. The average rate of net photosynthesis, total amount of irrigation water applied, and dry biomass gain had highly significant and positive linear correlations with long-term water-use efficiency (WUEL). The same was true between average stomatal conductance and WUEL. By contrast, instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUEI) was very significantly and negatively correlated with WUEL. In addition, values for WUEL were much higher from well-watered plants when compared with either drought-stressed trees or those treated per ADI. Therefore, our results indicate that, although ‘Pink Lady’ apple normally has high WUE, it still consumes a large amount of water. Therefore, the practice of ADI following a period of long-term drought could be used to improve growth and WUEL by this cultivar., X. P. Sun ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The effects of ambient levels of ozone and summer drought were assessed on a poplar clone (Populus maximowiczii Henry X P. × berolinensis Dippel - Oxford clone) in an open top chamber experiment carried out at the Curno facilities (Northern Italy). Chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence parameters (from both modulated and direct fluorescence) were assessed at different hours of the day (predawn, morning, midday, afternoon, and evening), from June to August 2008. This paper compares the results from predawn (PD, before sunrise) and afternoon (AN, in full sunlight) measurements, in order to evaluate the role of high sunlight as a factor influencing responses to ozone stress. Sunlight affected the maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry (decrease of Fv/Fm) thus indicating photoinhibition. The effective quantum yield (ΦPSII) and the photochemical quenching (qP) were enhanced in the afternoon with respect to the predawn, whereas the nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) was reduced. The effect of ozone was detected with fluorescence on well watered plants in the first week of July, before the onset of visible symptoms. As far as Fv/Fm are concerned, the differences between ozone-treated and control plants were statistically significant in the predawn, but not in the afternoon. Ozone exerted only minor effects on drought exposed plants because of the reduced stomatal ozone uptake, but effects on the IP phase of the fluorescence transient were observed also in drought-stressed plants., R. Desotgiu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The specificity factor of Rubisco (S f) was estimated in intact leaves from the carboxylation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) at various CO2/O2 ratios. As oxygenation is calculated by the difference of the 14CO2 uptake by RuBP in the absence and presence of oxygen, it is important to choose the optimum CO2/O2 ratios. At high CO2 concentration (1,000 cm3 m-3 and higher) oxygenation consumes less than 50% RuBP but the difference of concentrations of CO2 at cell walls (Cw) and at the carboxylation centers (Cc) is 2-5% and the influence of mesophyll resistance
(rmd) is of minor importance. To accumulate large endogenous pool of RuBP, the leaves were preilluminated in the CO2- and
O2-free gas environments for 8 to 10 s. Thereafter the light was switched off and the leaves were flushed with the gas containing different concentrations of 14CO2 and O2. The specificity factor of Rubisco was calculated from the amount of the tracer taken up under different 14CO2/O2 ratios by the exhaustion of the RuBP pool. Application of 14CO2 allowed us to discriminate between the CO2 uptake and the concurrent respiratory CO2 release which proceeded at the expense of unlabelled intermediates., J. Viil, H. Ivanova, T. Pärnik., and Obsahuje bibliografii
a1_Different parameters that vary during leaf development may be affected by light intensity. To study the influence of different light intensities on primary leaf senescence, sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants were grown for 50 days under two photon flux density (PFD) conditions, namely high irradiance (HI) at 350 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1 and low irradiance (LI) at 125 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1. Plants grown under HI exhibited greater specific leaf mass referred to dry mass, leaf area and soluble protein at the beginning of the leaf development. This might have resulted from the increased CO2 fixation rate observed in HI plants, during early development of primary leaves. Chlorophyll a and b contents in HI plants were lower than in LI plants in young leaves. By contrast, the carotenoid content was significantly higher in HI plants. Glucose concentration increased with the leaf age in both treatments (HI and LI), while the starch content decreased sharply in HI plants, but only slightly in LI plants. Glucose contents were higher in HI plants than in LI plants; the differences were statistically significant (p<0.05) mainly at the beginning of the leaf senescence. On the other hand, starch contents were higher in HI plants than in LI plants, throughout the whole leaf development period. Nitrate reductase (NR) activity decreased with leaf ageing in both treatments. However, the NR activation state was higher during early leaf development and decreased more markedly in senescent leaves in plants grown under HI. GS activity also decreased during sunflower leaf ageing under both PFD conditions, but HI plants showed higher GS activities than LI plants. Aminating and deaminating activities of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) peaked at 50 days (senescent leaves). GDH deaminating activity increased 5-fold during the leaf development in HI plants, but only 2-fold in LI plants., a2_ The plants grown under HI exhibited considerable oxidative stress in vivo during the leaf senescence, as revealed by the substantial H2O2 accumulation and the sharply decrease in the antioxidant enzymes, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase, in comparison with LI plants. Probably, systemic signals triggered by a high PFD caused early senescence and diminished oxidative protection in primary leaves of sunflower plants as a result., L. De la Mata ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
a1_We investigated the light reactions, CO2 assimilation, but also the chloroplast ultrastructure in the upper three functional leaves (flag, 2nd, and 3rd leaves) of the Chinese super-high-yield hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) Liangyoupeijiu (LYPJ) with ultraviolet-B (UV-B) treatment during reproductive development. Photosynthetic parameters showed that the upper 3 functional leaves of LYPJ entered into senescence approximately 15 days after flag leaf emergence (DAE). Leaves in UV-B treatment exhibited greater efficiency in absorbing and utilizing light energy of photosystem II (PSII), characterized by higher chlorophyll (Chl) content and the whole chain electron transport rate (ETR). However, UV-B radiation reduced activities of Ca2+-ATPase and photophosphorylation. The significantly decreased activity of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) was greatly associated with the decline in photosynthetic efficiency. The net photosynthetic rate (PN) and stomatal conductance (gs) suffered strong reductions before 25 DAE, and afterwards showed no significant difference between control and treatment. UV-B treatment delayed chloroplasts development of flag leaves. Chloroplast membranes later swelled and disintegrated, and more stromal thylakoids were parallel to each other and were arranged in neat rows, which might be responsible for better performance of the primary light reaction. It is likely that accumulation of starch and an increase in the number of lipid droplet and translucent plastoglobuli were results of an inhibition of carbohydrate transport. Our results suggest that long-term exposure to enhanced UV-B radiation was unlikely to have detrimental effects on the absorption flux of photons and the transport of electrons, but it resulted in the decrease of photophosphorylation and Rubisco activation of LYPJ., a2_The extent of the damage to the chloroplast ultrastructure was consistent with the degree of the inhibition of photosynthesis., G. H. Yu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In this work, the injuries caused by clethodim herbicide application as well as the use of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) as a protective agent against clethodim in Zea mays leaves were examined. Although the target for clethodim is the inhibition of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) which is the key enzyme for fatty acid biosynthesis, it can indirectly affect the photosynthetic machinery, gaseous exchange and some biochemical parameters. Clethodim application caused chlorosis and yellowing of leaf-tip parts. Higher doses caused browning or reddening of leaves and sometimes dead parts of the leaf margins were observed. The rate of photosynthesis was significantly lowered and the pigments content was highly reduced as a response to clethodim spraying. Moreover, other gas-exchange properties were altered. Furthermore, accumulation of high amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and proline were detected. SA spraying three days prior clethodim application caused partially or totally disappearance of clethodim injuries and kept the leaves similar to those of control. Improved photosynthesis and enhanced pigments content were observed in leaves treated with SA. Other analyzed parameters showed values similar to those of the corresponding control. From the experimental work, an evidenced role of SA working against clethodim effects was suggested and discussed in this paper., D. E. M. Radwan, D. M. Soltan., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We studied the photosynthetic performance of sterile and fertile sporophytes in a natural population of the fern Dryopteris affinis growing within a riparian forest (Central Italy) using chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence transients, the OJIP phase, where O is for the minimum fluorescence, P is for the peak (the maximum), and J and I are inflections. The “vitality” of the samples was assessed by the maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry obtained indirectly from the fluorescence data (Fv/Fm); in the same way, the so-called performance index (PIABS) was obtained from fluorescence data. The photosynthetic performance (inferred from PIABS) of D. affinis changed significantly with the seasonal development of the fronds. The highest photosynthetic performance was recorded in the summer, corresponding to the period of spore release. The photosynthetic performance decreased in the winter, down to the minimal values of senescent fronds reached at the end of the seasonal cycle (May-June). On the whole, during the seasonal development, sterile and fertile fronds had a similar photosynthetic behaviour, as inferred from fluorescence data. At the end of spore maturation and dispersal (September-October), the fertile fronds showed somewhat lower photosynthetic performance than the sterile fronds, as revealed by PIABS. Being a long-lived fern, confined to humid and undisturbed sites in the Mediterranean, D. affinis deserves to be further investigated as a potential indicator of ecological continuity in Mediterranean riparian forests., L. Paoli, M. Landi., and Obsahuje bibliografii