Intact cells of Synechococcus elongatus were treated with different concentrations (0.1 and 1.0 mM = Cd0.1, Cd1.0) of CdCl2 for 24 h. Cd0.1 treatment stimulated growth of the cell culture and chlorophyll (Chl) a concentration in the culture. Cd1.0 inhibited both the above mentioned parameters. The oxygen evolving activity of intact cells (H2O → BQ) as well as of isolated thylakoid membranes, TM (H2O → DCPIP; H2O → PBQ + FeCy) decreased after 24 h of Cd1.0 cultivation to 7 %. Photosystem 1 (PS1) activity was less sensitive to the effect of Cd2+ than PS2 activity. CdCl2 concentration in cultivation media after 24 h of cultivation proved that the cyanobacterium cells take up these ions to a large extent from the cultivation medium. After 24 h of the Cd1.0 treatment only 12 % of the amount of Cd2+ originally added to the cultivation medium was found. The ratio of external-antenna pigments, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin to Chl increased approximately twofold with growing Cd2+ concentration in the cultivation medium. This ratio was found in both TM and dodecylmaltoside extracts. and E. Tůmová, D. Sofrová.
We summarize the contemporary understanding of the effects of metal stress on various photosynthetic processes in photoautotrophic organisms and of the defence strategies employed by these organisms to avoid such stress. Cadmium is in the centre of interest of this review, as a non-essential element and important environmental pollutant, but Al, Pb, Hg, As, Cu, and Zn are also considered. Toxic metal ions pollute the environment through anthropogenic activities and affect the quality of plant crop. They represent one of the main abiotic stress factors influencing the health of plants and, as a secondary effect, of animals including man. The review summarizes the generally accepted answers to the questions: How do the toxic metal ions enter the photosynthetic organisms? How are they accumulated in plants? Which mechanisms do plants develop to tolerate metal stress and protect themselves? and T. Kučera, H. Horáková, A. Šonská.