The cadmium treatment of dark-grown leaves and isolated etioplast inner membranes of wheat resulted in a decrease of the amount of the 657 nm emitting (77 K fluorescence) protochlorophyllide (PChlide) form, a simultaneous increase of the 633 nm form and the appearance of a 641.5 nm emitting form. This effect did not occur if excess NADPH was added to the isolated membranes: these samples showed spectral properties identical to those of non-treated (control) samples. Inhibition of the PChlide phototransformation was observed in the cadmium-treated leaves and membranes, the irradiation resulted in the appearance of a smáli amount of chlorophyllide (Chlide) with characteristic emission band at 678 nm. If excess NADPH was added, the inhibition did not occur and flash irradiation resulted in formation of the 694 nm Chlide form similarly as in control plants.
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.].
The delayed luminescence (DL) of photosystem 2 (PS2) after infiltration of 7-d-old etiolated barley leaves with chlorophyllides (Chlide) a or b followed by 2.5 h dark incubation was studied. Chlide a caused a very weak DL of PS2 just at the beginning of irradiation and the intensity of this DL was not higher when the infiltration medium contained 2 mM of NADPH. Chlide b was a somewhat more efficient inducer of PS2 formation in the dark and NADPH enhanced this efficiency 4.5 times though it did not affect the amount of esterified Chlides. The photoconversion of endogenous Pchlide led to a much higher intensity of the DL in comparison with the infiltration of Chlides, while the total amount of chlorophyll (Chl) formed was almost unchanged. The use of Chlide b together with the acetone extract from green leaves, devoid of pigments, resulted in the DL intensity comparable with that observed after Pchlide photoconversion followed by 2.5 h incubation in the dark. Dark formation of active PS2 in etiolated leaves was shown for the first time. Thus the dark formation of active PS2 may require Chl b, NADPH, and some unidentified water-soluble factor(s), synthesized in the dark after a short irradiation of etiolated leaves and inherent in green leaves. and V. P. Domanskiï, L.I. Fradkin.
Low temperature significantly influences chloroplast development and chlorophyll (Chl) biosynthesis, so effect of coldness on Chl content and Chl fluorescence characteristics was investigated in C. bungeana (Chorispora bungeana Fisch. & C.A. Mey). The levels of transcript and protein of an enzymatic step during Chl biosynthesis in response to chilling (4°C) and freezing (-4°C) were also examined in this work. Significant reduction in total Chl content was observed, but the reduction was much less at 4°C than that at -4°C. Moreover, the maximal quantum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry, indicated by Fv/Fm, decreased in the first 12 h, but then started to increase and reached higher levels than the control at 24 h and 48 h at 4°C, but decreased continuously at -4°C. Whereas quantum yield of PSII (ΦPSII) showed no significant difference between the chilling-stressed and the control seedlings, at -4°C, ΦPSII was markedly reduced with the prolonged treatment. In general, there were no significant responses of photochemical quenching (qP) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) to cold treatment. Meanwhile, the full-length cDNA of NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR, EC 1.3.1.33) was isolated and termed CbPORB (GenBank Accession No. FJ390503). Its transcript and protein content only slightly declined at 4°C, but dramatically reduced at -4°C with the time. These results strongly suggest that CbPORB possesses certain resistant characteristics and is a major player in Chl biosynthesis process involved in plant growth and development of C. bungeana under cold environmental conditions. and Y. H. Li ... [et al.].