Cyanobacteria Spirulina platensis and Nostoc linckia were grown in the presence of 5 mM and 50 mM glucose or 5 mM mannose, non-metabolisable glucose analogue that effectively triggers the repression of photosynthesis. Glucose evoked active cyanobacterial growth but chlorophyll (Chl) content decreased to some extent and porphyrins were excreted. The content of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol decreased in glucose-grown cyanobacteria and that of phosphatidylglycerol increased substantially. Mannose inhibited cyanobacteria growth as well as Chl synthesis, however, phosphatidylglycerol contents were higher than in respective control samples. In cyanobacterial cells glucose may not only inhibit photosynthetic processes, but also cause structural transformations of membranes which may be necessary for the activity of respiratory electron transport chain components under heterotrophic conditions. and N. F. Mykhaylenko ... [et al.].
We report the observation of two types of changes in fluorescence spectra of LHCII at 4.2 K following intense illumination of the sample with a spectrally narrow laser beam at wavelengths between 678 and 686 nm. Nonspecific changes (burning-wavelength independent) are characterized by two relatively broad bands: a positive one at - 678.7 nm and a negative one at - 680.8 nm. These changes reveal a -1.3-nm blue shift of the distribution of final emitters in LHCII, from 680.3 nm to - 679.0 nm independent of the excitation wavelength. Specific fluorescence changes (burning-wavelength dependent) are characterized by a sharp hole exactly at the burning wavelength, and positive changes directly to the shorter-and longer-wavelength side of the narrow hole. The negative changes are interpreted as zero-phonon holes, while the positive features are assigned to non-photochemical products. In the low-burning intensity experiment, in addition to the zero-phonon holes, we observed also the holes to the longer wavelength of the zero-phonon hole, which were assigned to a sum of phonon and pseudo-phonon side bands. The shapes of these extra holes are identical to the shapes of the holes revealed in the fluorescence line narrowing experiment. On the basis of the low-burning intensity experiment we estimated the upper limit of the electron-phonon coupling strength for LHCII, characterized by a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.5. and K. Gibasiewicz, M. Rutkowski, R. van Grondelle.
We developed new parameters for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, namely partial atomic charges, equilibrium bond-lengths, angles, dihedrals, atom types, and force constants of chlorophyll a (Chl) and plastoquinone (PQ), and both reduced and neutral form of primary acceptor (PHO) molecule. These parameters are essential for MD simulations that can interpret various structure functional relationships during primary processes of charge separation and stabilization in photosystem 2 reaction centres. and P. Palenčár, F. Vácha, M. Kutý.
Optical characteristics, contents of photosynthetic pigments, total soluble sugars, and starch, rates of gas exchange, chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence, and leaf water relations were analysed in three Vitis vinifera L. cultivars, Tinto Cão (TC), Touriga Nacional (TN), and Tinta Roriz (TR), grown in Mediterranean climate. Chl content was significantly lower in TC than in TN and TR leaves, while the Chl a/b ratio was higher. TR had the lowest net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and contents of soluble sugars and starch than TN and TC. In spite of low Chl content, TC showed the lowest photon absorbance and the highest photochemical efficiency of photosystem 2. TC had the lowest predawn and midday leaf water potential. The capability for osmotic adjustment was similar among cultivars and the calculated modulus of elasticity was higher in TC leaves. The typical lighter green leaves of TC seemed to be an adaptive strategy to high irradiance and air temperature associated to water stress. and J. Moutinho-Pereira ... [et al.].
The effect of different doses of nitrogen (N) on gas exchange, relative chlorophyll (Chl) amount, and the content of N in the aerial biomass of lisianthus was evaluated. The treatments consisted of six different concentrations of N (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 g m-3 noted as N50, N100, N150, N200, N250, and N300, respectively), applied through the fertirrigation technique. N250 and N300 induced increase in the contents of foliar Chl and N in the aerial biomass, that in turn contributed to an increase of photosynthetic activity in lisianthus. and J. A. Marchese ... [et al.].
Dry matter (DM) of olive fruit (cv. Leccino) constantly increased from fruit-set (mid-June) to the end of October. The oil content increased rapidly from the beginning of August, about 40-50 d after full bloom (AFB), to the end of October. As the oil content increased, the saccharide content decreased. On a DM basis, fruit dark respiration rate (RD) and stomatal conductance (Gs) were high soon after fruit-set, then strongly decreased. Gross photosynthetic rate (PG) in full sunlight was high in the first 3 weeks after fruit-set, when the chlorophyll (Chl) content and the ratio between fruit surface area and volume were high, then it progressively decreased. The fruit intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) was always relatively high, particularly from September onwards. The PG increased following the increase of irradiance (I). The daily PG trend was similar to the I and temperature trends, showing the maximum values at 14:00 h. For a large part of the fruit growing period, during daylight, the CO2 intake by a fruit permitted the reassimilation of a large part (40-80%) of the CO2 produced by RD. The stomata in the first stages of fruit growth were oval and surrounded by guard cells, two months later they lost their shape and were covered by wax. The reduction in fruit PG during fruit growth could be connected to the reduction of the ratio between fruit surface area and fruit volume and the cellular differentiation, whereas the constant high Ci seems to exclude the influence of Gs decrease. Even if olive fruit is highly heterotrophic organ, its photosynthesis can considerably reduce the use of assimilates for respiration and favour fruit maintenance and growth. and P. Proietti, F. Famiani, A. Tombesi.
From the beginning of olive leaf yellowing to leaf fall (1/3 months), there was a general trend from anabolism to catabolism. Rates of net photosynthesis (PN) and respiration, areal dry mass, and contents of pigments, particularly of chlorophyll (Chl) a, starch, and above all nitrogen (N) decreased. The detachment force decreased dramatically only in completely chlorotic leaves. Chl a : b ratio only declined in the last 10-20 d of senescence, when the total Chl contents diminished by about 70 %, after which the N content, PN, and efficiency of the photochemical energy conversion of the remaining Chl and N dramatically declined. Consequently, for most of the natural course of senescence PN remained relatively high. The reduction in PN was associated with the decreases in transpiration rate (E) and stomatal conductance (gs), but these probably did not cause the decline of PN. The recycling of saccharide compounds was low, while 50 % of the total N on a leaf area basis was relocated back before leaf abscission, changing the leaf from a carbon source to a mineral source. Therefore, considering that senescing leaves in olive trees contribute to carbon gain and allow the recycling of resources, it is essential to prevent the premature leaf abscission by avoiding deficits of water and mineral nutrients and by using pruning and training systems that allow good irradiation of all leaves in the crown.
In this work, photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry, leaf water potential, and pigment contents of male and female Pistacia lentiscus L. were investigated during a seasonal cycle at three different, arid locations: superior semiarid, inferior semiarid, and arid. The results showed that the gender, season, and the site conditions interacted to influence the quantum yield and pigment contents in P. lentiscus. Predawn leaf water status was determined only by the site and season. The annual patterns of PSII maximum quantum efficiency (Fv/Fm) were characterized by a suboptimal activity during the winter, especially, populations with the more negative water potential exhibited a lower chlorophyll (Chl) a content and chronic photoinhibition irrespective of a gender. We also demonstrated that both photochemical or nonphotochemical mechanisms were involved to avoid the photoinhibition and both of them depended on the season. This plasticity of photosynthetic machinery was accompanied by changes in carotenoids and Chl balance. In the spring, the female Fv/Fm ratio was significantly higher than in male individuals, when the sexual dimorphism occurred during the fruiting stage, regardless of site conditions. P. lentiscus sex-ratio in Mediterranean areas, where precipitations exceeded 500 mm, was potentially female-biased. Among the fluorescence parameters investigated, nonphotochemical quenching coefficient appeared as the most useful one and a correlation was found between Chl a content and Fv/Fm. These results suggest that functional ecology studies would be possible on a large scale through light reflectance analysis. and S. Ait Said ... [et al.].
In soybean seedlings, Cd2+ affected growth and inhibited photosynthesis. Both the length and fresh mass decreased more in roots than in shoots. Cd2+ stress caused an increase in ratio of chlorophyll (Chl) (a+b)/b by 1.3 fold and ratio of total xanthophylls/β-carotene by 3 fold compared to the control. A reduced activity of photosystem 2 by about 85 % measured in Cd2+-treated chloroplasts was associated with a dramatic quenching of fluorescence emission intensity, with a band shift of 4 nm. A major suppression of absorption was accompanied with shift in peaks in the visible region of the spectrum. In Cd2+-treated chloroplasts a selective decline in linolenic acid (18:3), the most unsaturated fatty acid of chloroplasts, paralleled with the ten fold enhancement in ethylene production. A three fold increase in peroxidase activity was found in chloroplasts treated with Cd2+ compared to the control . Addition of 1 mM glutathione (GSH) counteracted all the retardation effects in soybean seedling growth induced by Cd2+. Thus GSH may control the Cd2+ growth inhibition as it detoxifies Cd2+ by reducing its concentration in the cytoplasm and removing hydrogen peroxide generated in chloroplasts.