Field-grown plants of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Akcent) in the growth phase 30 DC (beginning of stem extension) were exposed to a one-shot application of a commercial product containing cyanazine (Bladex 50 SC) in two doses, C30 and C60 (30 and 60 mg m-2). The reaction of the plant photosynthetic system was followed non-destructively using chlorophyll fluorescence induction (the O-J-I-P transient) within three weeks after the application in the fifth developed leaf and three further gradually appearing leaves. An immediate response of plants to the application of cyanazine and a regeneration of plants from cyanazine action were detected. The biological (plant dry mass) and crop yield production (the number and mass of grains in a spike) were analyzed in time of full ripeness. The crop yield was lowered by the herbicide effect to the same level for the two doses used. and M. Matoušková, J. Nauš, M. Flašarová.
The short-term acclimation (10-d) of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst] to elevated CO2 concentration (EC) in combination with low irradiance (100 μmol m-2 s-1) resulted in stimulation of CO2 assimilation (by 61 %), increased total chlorophyll (Chl) content (by 17 %), significantly higher photosystem 2 (PS2) photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm; by 4 %), and reduced demand on non-radiative dissipation of absorbed excitation energy corresponding with enhanced capacity of photon utilisation within PS2. On the other hand, at high cultivation irradiance (1 200 μmol m-2 s-1) both Norway spruce and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Akcent) responded to EC by reduced photosynthetic capacity and prolonged inhibition of Fv/Fm accompanied with enhanced non-radiative dissipation of absorbed photon energy. Norway spruce needles revealed the expressive retention of zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin (Z+A) in darkness and higher violaxanthin (V) convertibility (yielding even 95 %) under all cultivation regimes in comparison with barley plants. In addition, the non-photochemical quenching of minimum Chl a fluorescence (SV0), expressing the extent of non-radiative dissipation of absorbed photon energy within light-harvesting complexes (LHCs), linearly correlated with V conversion to Z+A very well in spruce, but not in barley plants. Finally, a key role of the Z+A-mediated non-radiative dissipation within LHCs in acclimation of spruce photosynthetic apparatus to high irradiance alone and in combination with EC was documented by extremely high SV0 values, fast induction of non-radiative dissipation of absorbed photon energy, and its stability in darkness. and I. Kurasová ... [et al.].
The impact of heat shock on minimising the activity of photosystem 2 (PS2) initiating high lipid peroxidation (POL) level and consequently changes in the enzymatic-antioxidant protective system was studied in seedlings of two Egyptian cultivars of barley (Giza 124 and 125). Heat doses (35 and 45 °C for 2, 4, 6, and 8 h) decreased chlorophyll (Chl) contents coupled with an increase in Chl a/b ratio, diminished Hill reaction activity, and quenched Chl a fluorescence emission spectra. These parameters reflect the disturbance of the structure, composition, and function of the photosynthetic apparatus as well as the activity of PS2. POL level, as dependent on the balance between pro- and anti-oxidant systems, was directly correlated with temperature, exposure time, and their interaction. Heat shock caused an increase in the electric conductivity of cell membrane, and malonyldialdehyde content (a peroxidation product) coupled with the disappearance of the polyunsaturated linolenic acid (C18:3), reflecting the peroxidation of membrane lipids which led to the loss of membrane selective permeability. Moreover, it induced distinct and significant changes in activities of antioxidant enzymes. Superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities have been progressively enhanced by moderate and elevated heat doses, but the most elevated one (45 °C for 8 h) showed a decrease in activities of both enzymes. In contrast, catalase activity was reduced with all heat shocks. and F. El-Shintinawy ... [et al.].
The adaptation of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Akcent) plants to low (LI, 50 µmol m-2 s-1) and high (HI, 1000 µmol m-2 s-1) growth irradiances was studied using the simultaneous measurements of the photosynthetic oxygen evolution and chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence at room temperature. If measured under ambient CO2 concentration, neither increase of the oxygen evolution rate (P) nor enhancement of non-radiative dissipation of the absorbed excitation energy within photosystem 2 (PS2) (determined as non-photochemical quenching of Chl a fluorescence, NPQ) were observed for HI plants compared with LI plants. Nevertheless, the HI plants exhibited a significantly higher proportion of QA in oxidised state (estimated from photochemical quenching of Chl a fluorescence, qP), by 49-102 % at irradiances above 200 µmol m-2 s-1 and an about 1.5 fold increase of irradiance-saturated PS2 electron transport rate (ETR) as compared to LI plants. At high CO2 concentration the degree of P stimulation was approximately three times higher for HI than for LI plants, and the irradiance-saturated P values at irradiances of 2 440 and 2 900 µmol m-2 s-1 were by 130 and 150 % higher for HI plants than for LI plants. We suggest that non-assimilatory electron transport dominates in the adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus of barley grown at high irradiances under ambient CO2 rather than an increased NPQ or an enhancement of irradiance-saturated photosynthesis. and I. Kurasová ... [et al.].
Six barley chlorophyll (Chl) mutants, viridis, flavoviridis, chlorina, xanhta, lutea, and albina, differed in the contents of Chl (a+b) and carotenoids (Cars). In accordance with their Chl-deficient phenotype, the Chl a and b and Car contents of mutants decreased from viridis to albina, only xantha had the same or even higher concentration of Cars as the wild type plant. The albina mutant completely lacked and xantha had a significantly reduced photosynthetic activity. We found quantitative differences in protein contents between wild type and mutant plants, with the lowest concentration per fresh mass in the albina mutant. Chl fluorescence analysis revealed that heat-treated barley leaves of both the wild type and Chl mutants had a lower photosystem 2 efficiency than the untreated ones. With 35S-methionine labelling and SDS-PAGE we found that six to nine de novo synthetized proteins appeared after heat shock (2 h, 42 °C) in the wild type and Chl mutants. In albina the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) was reduced to 50 % of that in the wild type. Hence mainly albina mutants, with a completely destroyed proteosynthetic apparatus of the chloroplasts, are able to synthesize a small set of HSPs. The albina mutant is a very useful tool for the study of different gene expression of chloroplast and nuclear DNA. and E. Gálová, B. Böhmová, A. Ševčovičová.
In order to understand the physiological traits important in conferring salt tolerance in three barley genotypes, this study was performed under field conditions with three water salinity levels (2, 10, and 18 dS m-1). High salinity decreased net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance, K+ concentration, K+:Na+ ratio, and grain yield, but increased electrolyte leakage and Na+ content. Under 10 and 18 dS m-1 salinity, Khatam (salt-tolerant) had the maximum stomatal conductance, K+, K+:Na+ ratio, and the grain yield, and a minimum Na+ content and electrolyte leakage, whereas Morocco (salt-sensitive) had the lowest net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, K+ content, K+:Na+ ratio, and grain yield, and the highest Na+ content and electrolyte leakage. This study showed that tolerant genotypes of barley may avoid Na+ accumulation in aboveground parts, facilitating a higher photosynthetic rate and higher grain yield., M. Mahlooji, R. Seyed Sharifi, J. Razmjoo, M. R. Sabzalian, M. Sedghi., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Seedlings of spring barley, meadow fescue, and winter rape were fumigated with 180 μg kg-1 of ozone for 12 d, and effect of O3 on photosynthesis and cell membrane permeability of fumigated plants was determined. Electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured after 6, 9, and 12 d of fumigation, while net photosynthetic rate (PN) and stomatal conductance (gs) were measured 9 d after the start of ozone exposure. O3 treatment did not change membrane permeability in fescue and barley leaves, while in rape a significant decrease in ion leakage was noted within the whole experiment. O3 did not change the photochemical efficiency of photosystem 2 (PS2), i.e., Fv/Fm, and the initial fluorescence (F0). The values of half-rise time (t1/2) from F0 to maximal fluorescence (Fm) decreased in fescue and barley after 6 and 9 d of fumigation. PN decreased significantly in ozonated plants, in the three species. The greatest decrease in PN was observed in ozonated barley plants (17 % of the control). The ozone-induced decrease in PN was due to the closure of stomata. Rape was more resistant to ozone than fescue or barley. Apparently, the rape plants show a large adaptation to ozone and prevent loss of membrane integrity leading to ion leakage. and A. Plażek, M. Rapacz. A. Skoczowski.
The combined effects of water status, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and elevated temperature from heading to maturity were studied in barley. Plants growing at high VPD, either under well-watered or water deficit conditions, had higher grain yield and grain filling rate than plants growing at low VPD. By contrast, water stress decreased grain yield and individual grain dry matter at any VPD. Water regime and to a lesser extent VPD affected δ13C of plant parts sampled at mid-grain filling and maturity. The differences between treatments were maximal in mature grains, where high VPD increased δ13C for both water regimes. However, the total amount of water used by the plant during grain filling did not change as response to a higher VPD whereas transpiration efficiency (TE) decreased. The net photosynthetic rate (PN) of the flag leaves decreased significantly under water stress at both VPD regimes. However, PN of the ears was higher at high VPD than at low VPD, and did not decrease as response to water stress. The higher correlation of grain yield with PN of the ear compared with that of the flag leaf support the role of ear as the main photosynthetic organ during grain filling under water deficit and high VPD. The deleterious effects of combined moderately high temperature and drought on yield were attenuated at high VPD. and M. Sánchez-Díaz ... [et al.].
Oscillations in many of photosynthetic quantities with a period of about 1 min can be routinely measured with higher plant leaves after perturbation of the steady state by sudden change in gas phase. Among all hypotheses suggested so far to explain the oscillations, an effect of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) activation status to control the oscillations is highly probable, at least upon high temperature (HT) treatment when in vivo RuBPCO activity controlled by RuBPCO activase (RuBPCO-A) decreases. Therefore, we measured the oscillations in fluorescence signal coming from barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Akcent) after their exposure for various time intervals to different HTs in darkness. We also evaluated steady state fluorescence and CO2 exchange parameters to have an insight to functions of electron transport chain within thylakoid membrane and Calvin cycle before initiation of the oscillations. The changes in period of the oscillations induced by moderate HT (up to 43 °C) best correlated with changes in non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (qN) that in turn correlated with changes in gross photosynthetic rate (PG) and rate of RuBPCO activation (kact). Therefore, we suggest that changes in period of the oscillations caused by moderate HT are mainly controlled by RuBPCO activation status. For more severe HT (45 °C), the oscillations disappeared which was probably caused by an insufficient formation of NADPH by electron transport chain within thylakoid membrane as judged from a decrease in photochemical fluorescence quenching (qP). Suggestions made on the basis of experimental data were verified by theoretical simulations of the oscillations based on a model of Calvin cycle and by means of a control analysis of the model. and D. Lazár ... [et al.].
Effects of short-term exposure to different irradiances on the function of photosystem 2 (PS2) were studied for barley grown at low (LI; 50 µmol m-2 s-1) and high (HI; 1 100 µmol m-2 s-1) irradiances. HI barley revealed higher ability to down-regulate the light-harvesting within PS2 after exposure to high irradiance as compared to LI plants. This ability was estimated from the light-induced decreases of F685/F742 and E476/E436 in emission and excitation spectra of 77 K chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence in vivo which was 65 and 10 % for HI plants as compared to 30 and 2 % for LI plants, respectively. For LI plants this protective down-regulation of the light-harvesting of PS2 was saturated at 430 µmol m-2 s-1, and progressive PS2 photodamage was induced at higher irradiances. After exposure of LI segments to 2 200 µmol m-2 s-1 a pronounced maximum at 700 nm appeared in emission spectrum of 77 K Chl a fluorescence. Based on complementary analysis of 77 K excitation spectra measured at the emission wavelength 685 nm we suggest that this emission maximum may be attributed to the formation of aggregates of light-harvesting complexes of PS2 (LHC2) with part of PS2 core during progressive PS2 photodamage. Our results can be explained assuming different contributions of LHC2 and PS2 core to the total nonradiative dissipation of absorbed excitation energy for the LI and HI barley. and M. Čajánek ... [et al.].