In five genotypes of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), the influence of salicylic acid (SA) on photosynthetic activity and biochemical constituents including peroxidase activity at the genotypic level was determined. After SA treatment the total free sugar content increased in IFC 8401 and IGFRI 450 genotypes, whereas the content of total leaf soluble proteins decreased significantly in IFC 902. The high chlorophyll (Chl) (a + b) content in IFC 902 showed a good correlation with the net photosynthetic rate (PN), as in this genotype a significant increase in PN was found after the SA treatment. and Amaresh Chandra,, R. K. Bhatt.
Chrysanthemum plantlets were cultivated in vitro on media with 2.0, 0.3, or 0 % sucrose, or photoautotrophically without an organic carbon source but with supplementation of the culture vessel atmosphere with 2 % CO2. The photoautotrophically cultivated plantlets showed a better growth and multiplication, higher contents of chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoids, higher Chl a/b ratio, net photosynthetic rate and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activities than plantlets grown on the medium with sucrose. and C. Cristea, F. Dalla Vecchia, N. la Rocca.
The acclimation depression of capacity of photon utilisation in photochemical reactions of photosystem 2 (PS2) can develop already after three months of cultivation of the Norway spruces (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) under elevated concentrations of CO2 (i.e., ambient, AC, + 350 µmol(CO2) mol-1 = EC) in glass domes with adjustable windows. To examine the role that duration of EC plays in acclimation response, we determined pigment contents, rate of photosynthesis, and parameters of chlorophyll a fluorescence for sun and shade needles after three seasons of EC exposure. We found responses of shaded and exposed needles to EC. Whereas the shaded needles still profited from the EC and revealed stimulated electron transport, for the exposed needles the stimulation of both electron transport activity and irradiance saturated rate of CO2 assimilation (PNmax) under EC already disappeared. No signs of the PS2 impairment were observed as judged from high values of potential quantum yield of PS2 photochemistry (FV/FM) and uniform kinetics of QA reoxidation for all variants. Therefore, the long-term acclimation of the sun-exposed needles to EC is not necessarily accompanied with the damage to the PS2 reaction centres. The eco-physiological significance of the reported differentiation between the responses of shaded and sun exposed needles to prolonged EC may be in changed contribution of the upper and lower crown layers to the production activity of the tree. Whereas for the AC spruces, PNmax of shaded needles was only less than 25 % compared to exposed ones, for the EC spruces the PNmax of shaded needles reached nearly 40 % of that estimated for the exposed ones. Thus, the lower shaded part of the crown may become an effective consumer of CO2. and J. Kalina ... [et al.].
We investigated the strategies of four co-occurring evergreen woody species Quercus ilex, Quercus coccifera, Pinus halepensis, and Juniperus phoenicea to cope with Mediterranean field conditions. For that purpose, stem water potential, gas exchange, chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence, and Chl and carotenoid (Car) contents were examined. We recognized two stress periods along the year, winter with low precipitation and low temperatures that led to chronic photoinhibition, and summer, when drought coincided with high radiation, leading to an increase of dynamic photoinhibition and a decrease of pigment content. Summer photoprotection was related to non-photochemical energy dissipation, electron flow to alternative sinks other than photosynthesis, decrease of Chl content, and proportional increase of Car content. Water potential of trees with deep vertical roots (Q. coccifera, Q. ilex, and P. halepensis) mainly depended on precipitation, whereas water potential of trees with shallow roots (J. phoenicea) depended not only on precipitation but also on ambient temperature. and F. J. Baquedano, F. J. Castillo.
Pigment contents of chloroplasts and net photosynthetic rate were dramatically reduced in maize leaves suffering from iron deficiency. However, the reduction in photosynthesis was probably not caused by decreased contents of chlorophylls and carotenoids and by photon absorption; the primary limiting factor for photosynthesis may rather be the decrease of electron transport activity in photosystem 1. Iron-deficient leaves suffered serious acceptor-side photoinhibition, and more than 60 % of absorbed photons were dissipated, while less than 40 % was used in photochemical reaction. Thermal energy dissipation depending on xanthophyll cycle and D1 protein turnover was enhanced when acceptor-side photoinhibition occurred in iron-deficient maize leaves. and Chuang-Dao Jiang, Hui-Yuan Gao, Qi Zou.
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 genetic variation in low temperature sensitivity of eight tomato genotypes grown at suboptimal temperature (19 °C) and at low irradiance (140 pmol m'2 s**) was assessed at the plant, chloroplast and thylakoid membrane levels. Temperature effects on the thylakoid membrane were determined by measuring the maximum fluorescence (Fp) and the maximal fluorescence rise (ADP) of induction traces of leaf discs at decreasing temperatures (30, 28, ... 0 °C). Two discontinuities were found in Fp versus temperature curves: a low temperature break at ca. 12 °C (LTB) and a high temperature break at ca. 22 °C (FITB). Below LTB, sFp and sDP were determined as the temperature induced changes in Fp, respectively ADP. Chloroplast functioning was determined by measuring net CO2 fixation rate (E^) of leaves. Plant performance was determined by measuring the increase in leaf area and sho ot dry mass in time. Correlations between the various parameters were analysed across the genotypic variation found. Chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence parameters were not correlated with plant performance at suboptimal growth conditions. of leaves was correlated with plant performance, but only at ambient CO2. Effects of stomatal resistance on were large. The Chl fluorescence parameters LTB, sFp and sDP could distinguish between tomato genotypes. Nevertheless, the ranking of the genotypes depended on the specific parameter selected, indicating that each parameter assessed a different aspect of the heterogeneous temperature dependence of Chl fluorescence induction. Their genetic variation suggested that the genotypes differed in the organisation and fimctioning of the thylakoid membrane. These differences were not reflected in of leaves or plant performance.
We examined, under laboratory conditions, the influence of temperature (2 °C vs. 10 °C) on the physiological responses of two aquatic bryophytes from a mountain stream to artificially enhanced UV-B radiation for 82 d. These organisms may be exposed naturally to relatively low temperatures and high levels of UV-B radiation, and this combination is believed to increase the adverse effects of UV-B radiation. In the moss Fontinalis antipyretica, UV-B-treated samples showed severe physiological damages, including significant decreases in chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid (Car) contents, Chl a/b and Chl/phaeopigment ratios, Chl a fluorescence parameters Fv/Fm and ΦPS2, electron transport rate (ETRmax), and growth. In the liverwort Jungermannia cordifolia, UV-B radiation hardly caused any physiological change except for growth reduction. Thus, this liverwort seemed to be more tolerant to UV-B radiation than the moss under the specific experimental conditions used, maybe partly due to the accumulation of UV-B absorbing compounds. The influence of temperature on the effects of UV-B radiation depended on the species: the higher the UV-B tolerance, the lower the influence of temperature. Also, different physiological variables showed varied responses to this influence. Particularly, the lower temperature used in our study enhanced the adverse effects of UV-B radiation on important physiological variables such as Fv/Fm, growth, and Chl/phaeopigment ratios in the UV-B-sensitive F. antipyretica, but not in the more UV-B-tolerant J. cordifolia. Thus, the adverse effects of cold and UV-B radiation were apparently additive in the moss, but this additiveness was lacking in the liverwort. The Principal Components Analyses (PCA) conducted for both species with the physiological data obtained after 36 and 82 d of culture confirmed the above results. Under natural conditions, the relatively high water temperatures in summer might facilitate the acclimation of aquatic bryophytes from mountain streams to high levels of UV-B radiation. This may be relevant to predict the consequences of concomitant global warming and increasing UV-B radiation. and E. Nuñez-Olivera ... [et al.].
Winter wheat plants were grown in open top chambers either at 365 µmol mol-1 (AC) or at 700 µmol mol-1 (EC) air CO2 concentrations. The photosynthetic response of flag leaves at the beginning of flowering and on four vertical leaf levels at the beginning of grain filling were measured. Net photosynthetic rates (PN) were higher at both developmental phases in plants grown at EC coupled with larger leaf area and photosynthetic pigment contents. The widely accepted Farquhar net photosynthesis model was parameterised and tested using several observed data. After parameterisation the test results corresponded satisfactorily with observed values under several environmental conditions. and N. Harnos, Z. Tuba, K. Szente.
The effect of high irradiance (HI) during desiccation and subsequent rehydration of the homoiochlorophyllous desiccation-tolerant shade plant Haberlea rhodopensis was investigated. Plants were irradiated with a high quantum fluence rate (HI; 350 µmol m-2 s-1 compared to ca. 30 µmol m-2 s-1 at the natural rock habitat below trees) and subjected either to fast desiccation (tufts dehydrated with naturally occurring thin soil layers) or slow desiccation (tufts planted in pots in peat-soil dehydrated by withholding irrigation). Leaf water content was 5 % of the control after 4 d of fast and 19 d of slow desiccation. Haberlea was very sensitive to HI under all conditions. After 19 d at HI, even in well-watered plants there was a strong reduction of rates of net photosynthesis and transpiration, contents of chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoids, as well as photosystem 2 activity (detected by the Chl fluorescence ratio RFd). Simultaneously, the blue/red and green/red fluorescence ratios increased considerably suggesting increased synthesis of polyphenolic compounds. Desiccation of plants in HI induced irreversible changes in the photosynthetic apparatus and leaves did not recover after rehydration regardless of fast or slow desiccation. Only young leaves survived desiccation. and K. Georgieva, S. Lenk, C. Buschmann.