Seasonal changes in water relations, net photosynthetic rate (PN), and fluorescence of chlorophyll (Chl) a of two perennial C3 deciduous shrubs, Ipomoea carnea and Jatropha gossypifolia, growing in a thorn scrub in Venezuela were studied in order to establish the possible occurrence of photoinhibition during dry season and determine whether changes in photochemical activity of photosystem 2 (PS2) may explain variations of PN in these species. Leaf water potential (ψ) decreased from -0.2 to -2.1 MPa during drought in both species. The PN decreased with ψ in I. carnea and J. gossypifolia by 64 and 74 %, respectively. Carboxylation efficiency (CE) decreased by more than 50 and 70 % in I. carnea and J. gossypifolia, respectively. In I. carnea, relative stomatal limitation (Ls) increased by 17 % and mesophyll limitation (Lm) by 65 % during drought, while in J. gossypifolia Ls decreased by 27 % and Lm increased by 51 %. Drought caused a reduction in quantum yield of PS2 (ϕPS2) in both species. Drought affected the capacity of energy dissipation of leaves, judging from the changes in the photochemical (qP) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) coefficients. Photoinhibition during drought in I. carnea and J. gossypifolia was evidenced in the field by a drop in the maximum quantum yield of PS2 (Fv/Fm) below 0.8 and also by non-coordinated changes in ϕPS2 and quantum yield of non-photochemical excitation quenching (Yn). Total soluble protein content on an area basis increased with ψ but the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase content remained unchanged. A reduction of total Chl content with drought was observed. Hence in the species studied photoinhibition occurred, which imposed an important limitation on carbon assimilation during drought. and W. Tezara ... [et al.].
Anastatica hierochuntica is an annual desert plant, which was recently shown to have unusually low nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) and a high PSII electron transport rate (ETR). In the current study, we examined how these unusual characteristics are related to a lack of CO2 and inhibition of net photosynthetic rate (P N). We compared the photosynthetic and photoprotective response of A. hierochuntica and sunflower (Helianthus annuus), under conditions of photosynthetic inhibition, with either low CO2 or drought. We found that under nonsteady state conditions of low CO2 availability, A. hierochuntica exhibited about half of the NPQ values and almost twice of the ETR values of H. annuus. However, the long-term inhibition of P N under drought caused a similar increase in NPQ and a decrease in ETR in both A. hierochuntica and H. annuus. These results suggest that the unusually low NPQ and high ETR in A. hierochuntica are not directly related to a response to drought conditions., A. Eppel, S. Rachmilevitch., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The effects of salinity (0-400 mM NaCl, marked S0, S100, S200, and S400) on growth, photosynthesis, photosystem 2 (PS2) efficiency, ion relations, and pigment contents were studied in two seashore Cakile maritima ecotypes (Tabarka and Jerba, respectively, sampled from humid and arid bioclimatic areas). Growth of Jerba plants was improved at S100 as compared to S0. Tabarka growth was inhibited by salinity at all NaCl concentrations. Leaf sodium and chloride concentrations increased with medium salinity and were higher in Jerba than in Tabarka plants. Chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance (gs), and intracellular CO2 concentration were stimulated at moderate salinity (S100) in Jerba plants and inhibited at higher salt concentrations in both ecotypes: gs was the most reduced parameter. The maximum quantum efficiency of PS2 (Fv/Fm), quantum yield, linear electron transport rate, and efficiency of excitation energy capture by open PS2 reaction centres showed no significant changes with increasing salt concentration in Jerba plant and were decreased in Tabarka subjected to S400. However, the efficiency of dissipation of excess photon energy in the PS2 antenna was maintained in Jerba and was increased in Tabarka plants challenged with S400. Hence the relative salt tolerance of Jerba was associated with a better ability to use Na+ and Cl- for osmotic adjustment, the absence of pigment degradation, and the concomitant PS2 protection from photodamage. and W. Megdiche ... [et al.].
Field experiments were conducted under rain-fed conditions to study the growth and photosynthetic efficiency of transgenic Bt cotton hybrids during 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. Three Bt cotton hybrids (Bollgard 1) and their non-Bt (NBt) counterparts viz. MECH 12, MECH 162, and MECH 184 were grown along with a local hybrid NHH44. Growth parameters such as plant height, main-stem nodes, biomass accumulation, and physiological processes like stomatal conductance (gs), and rates of transpiration (E) and photosynthesis (PN) did not differ significantly between Bt and NBt hybrids up to 80 DAS (d after sowing). Squaring commenced at 50 DAS both in Bt and NBt. The loss of young fruiting forms by the entomological factors was three times less in Bt than NBt. As a consequence, Bt had more early formed bolls on the lower canopy which contributed to higher biomass and seed cotton yield. On the other hand, bolls distributed intermittently in NBt. Heavy boll load altered the growth and physiological processes, and as a result Bt had higher gs, E, and PN than NBt. Since developing bolls (sink) divert the saccharides and nutrients from other organs, Bt plants with heavy boll load senesced early and stopped the production of new squares and bolls. Thus, the boll load influenced the change in growth and physiological processes of Bt from NBt. and K. B. Hebbar, N. K. Perumal, B. M. Khadi.
Leaf gas exchange characteristics were measured in twenty woody species that differ in succession status ranging from pioneer species (PS) to late succession species (LS) in a Brazilian rain-reforestation ecosystem. Photon-saturated photosynthetic rate, calculated per either a leaf area (PNA) or a dry mass (PNM) basis, differed among species. PNA and PNM were highest in PS and lowest in LS. Variation among species was 3-fold (from 7 to 23 μmol m-2 s-1) for PNA, and 5-fold (from 50 to 275 μmol kg-2 s-1) for PNM. The highest PNA (23 μmol m-2 s-1) and PNM (275 μmol kg-2 s-1) values were recorded in PS Croton urucurana, while the lowest PNA (7 μmol m-2 s-1) and PNM (50 μmol kg-2 s-1) values were recorded in LS Aspidosperma cylindrocarpon. A considerable overlap was recorded between PS and LS in values of stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (E), and leaf mass to area ratio (ALM). However, C. urucurana also showed highest gs and E. PNM was highly correlated with ALM in both PS and LS (r=-0.75 and -0.90, respectively). The high values of instantaneous transpiration efficiency (ITE) and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) were also observed in the PS when compared with the LS. and A. Nogueira ... [et al.].
Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Jingdong 8) was exposed to short-term high ozone treatment after anthesis and then was either well irrigated with soil water content (SWC) of 80-85 % (O3+W) or drought treated (SWC 35-40 %, O3+D). Short-term ozone exposure significantly decreased irradiance-saturated net photosynthetic rate (PN) of winter wheat. Under good SWC, PN of the O3-treated plant was similar to that of control on 2 d after O3-exposure (6 DAA), but decreased significantly after 13 DAA, indicating that O3 exposure accelerated leaf senescence. Meanwhile, green flag leaf area was reduced faster than that of control. As a result, grain yield of O3+W was significantly decreased. PN of O3+D was further notably decreased and green flag leaf area was reduced more than that in O3+W. Consequently, substantial yield loss of O3+D was observed compared to that of O3+W. Although PN was significantly positively correlated with stomatal conductance, it also had notable positive correlation with the maximum photochemical efficiency in the dark adapted leaves (Fv/Fm), electron transport rate (ETR), photochemical quenching (qP), as well as content of chlorophyll, suggesting that the depression of PN was mainly caused by non-stomatal limitation. Hence optimal soil water condition should be considered in order to reduce the yield loss caused by O3 pollution. and H. Xu ... [et al.].
To evaluate utility of different salt-tolerant lines, three soybean lines with different resistance to salt were planted in the field under control and salt-stress conditions for two years. The results showed that net photosynthetic rate (PN) was significantly different among lines at the anthesis stage and decreased on average by 13.6-34.1% under conditions of salt stress. The stomatal conductance was a primary limiting factor for the reduction of PN under salt stress. Meanwhile, the grain yield (GY) decreased on average by 14.0-35.3% among lines under salt stress. The salt-tolerant lines S111-9 and S113-6 showed higher PN and GY under salt stress in comparison with the salt-sensitive cultivar Melrose. Regression analysis indicated that there was extremely significantly positive correlation between GY and PN under field conditions. Therefore, PN might be used as a physiological index for field resistance of soybean to salt stress., Y. He, Y. Chen, C. L. Yu, K. X. Lu, Q. S. Jiang, J. L. Fu, G. M. Wang, D. A. Jiang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We studied the responses of leaf gas exchange and growth to an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration in four tropical deciduous species differing in carbon fixation metabolism: Alternanthera crucis, C3-C4; Ipomoea carnea, C3; Jatropha gossypifolia, C3; and Talinum triangulare, inducible-CAM. In the first stage, plants were grown in one open-top chamber at a CO2 concentration of 560±40 μmol mol-1 (EC), one ambient CO2 concentration chamber (AC), and one unenclosed plot (U). In the second stage, plants were grown in five EC chambers (CO2 concentration = 680±30 μmol mol-1), five AC chambers, and five unenclosed plots. During the first weeks under EC in the first stage, plants of all the species had a very marked increase in their maximal net photosynthetic rates (Pmax) of 3.5 times on average; this stimulatory effect was maintained for 11-15 weeks, rates dampening afterward to values still higher than controls for 37 weeks. After a suspension of CO2 enrichment for 6 weeks, an increase in Pmax of EC plants over the controls was found in plants of all the species until week 82 of the experiment. Stomatal conductance (g) showed no response to EC. Carboxylation efficiency decreased in all the species under EC and this was correlated with a decrease in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) content in all the species except for T. triangulare. During drought Pmax was higher in all species except for 7 triangulare, grown under EC relative to controls.
Ecosystem photosynthetic rates at EC were higher than in the controls during the second stage under irrigation as well as after 30 d of drought. and M. D. Fernández ... [et al.].
Environmental factors that induce spatial heterogeneity of stomatal conductance, gs, called stomatal patchiness, also reduce the photochemical capacity of CO2 fixation, yet current methods cannot distinguish between the relative effect of stomatal patchiness and biochemical limitations on photosynthetic capacity. We evaluate effects of stomatal patchiness and the biochemical capacity of CO2 fixation on the sensitivity of net photosynthetic rate (PN) to stomatal conductance (gs), θ (θ = δP N/gs). A qualitative model shows that stomatal patchiness increases the sensitivity θ while reduced biochemical capacity of CO2 fixation lowers θ. We used this feature to distinguish between stomatal patchiness and mesophyll impairments in the photochemistry of CO2 fixation. We compared gas exchange of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants grown in a growth chamber and fed abscisic acid, ABA (10-5 M), for 10 d with control plants (-ABA). PN and gs oscillated more frequently in ABA-treated than in control plants when the leaves were placed into the leaf chamber and exposed to a dry atmosphere. When compared with the initial CO2 response measured at the beginning of the treatment (day zero), both ABA and control leaves showed reduced PN at particular sub-stomatal CO2 concentration (ci) during the oscillations. A lower reduction of P N at particular g s indicated overestimation of ci due to stomatal patchiness and/or omitted cuticular conductance, gc. The initial period of damp oscillation was characterised by inhibition of chloroplast processes while stomatal patchiness prevailed at the steady state of gas exchange. The sensitivity θ remained at the original pre-treatment values at high gs in both ABA and control plants. At low gs, θ decreased in ABA-treated plants indicating an ABA-induced impairment of chloroplast processes. In control plants, gc neglected in the calculation of gs was the likely reason for apparent depression of photosynthesis at low gs. and J. Šantrůček ... [et al.].
High abundance of cockspur (Echinochloa crus-galli) at the geothermal carbon dioxide spring area in Stavešinci indicates that this species is able to grow under widely varying CO2 concentrations. Living cockspur plants can even be found very close to gas-releasing vents where growth is significantly reduced. Plant height correlated well with CO2 exposure. The δ13C value of the CO2 spring air was -3.9 ‰ and δ13C values of high-, medium-, and low-CO2 plants were -10.14, -10.44, and -11.95 ‰, respectively. Stomatal response directly followed the prevailing CO2 concentrations, with the highest reduction of stomatal conductance in high CO2 concentration grown plants. Analysis of the curves relating net photosynthetic rate to intercellular CO2 concentration (PN-Ci curves) revealed higher CO2 compensation concentration in plants growing at higher CO2 concentration. This indicates adjustment of respiration and photosynthetic carbon assimilation according to the prevailing CO2 concentrations during germination and growth. There was no difference in other photosynthetic parameters measured. and D. Vodnik ... [et al.].