Abstract
In order to investigate the effects of low irradiation (LI) on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Jinyou 35) during a ripening stage, our experiment was carried out in a climate chamber. Two levels of PAR were set for plants: normal irradiation [NI, 600 μmol(photon) m−2 s−1] and low irradiation [LI, 100 μmol(photon) m−2 s−1], respectively. The experiments lasted for 9 d; then both groups of plants were transferred under NI to recover for 16 d. The plants showed severe chlorosis after the LI treatment. Chlorophyll (Chl) a, initial slope, photosynthetic rate at saturating irradiation (P max), light saturation point, maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), electron transport rate of PSII (ETR), soluble protein content, and catalase (CAT) activity in cucumber leaves decreased under LI stress, while Chl b, carotenoids, light compensation point, nonphotochemical quenching (qN), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) exhibited an increasing trend under LI. After 16 d of recovery, values of P max, Fv/Fm, ETR, qN, SOD, CAT, MDA, and soluble protein were close to those of the control after one, three, and five days of the LI treatment, while those kept under LI for 7 and 9 d could not return to the control level. Therefore, 7 d of LI stress was a meteorological disaster index for LI in cucumber at the fruit stage.
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Abbreviations
- AQE:
-
apparent quantum efficiency
- Car:
-
carotenoids
- CAT:
-
catalase
- Chl:
-
chlorophyll
- ETR:
-
electron transport rate
- F0 :
-
initial fluorescence
- F0′:
-
minimal fluorescence yield of the light-adapted state
- Fm′:
-
maximal fluorescence yield of the light-adapted state
- Fs :
-
steady-state fluorescence yield
- FM:
-
fresh mass
- Fv/Fm :
-
maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry
- g smax :
-
maximum of stomatal conductance
- k :
-
curve convexity
- LCP:
-
light compensation point
- LI:
-
low irradiation
- LSP:
-
light saturation point
- MDA:
-
malondialdehyde
- NI:
-
normal irradiation
- P max :
-
photosynthetic rate at irradiation saturation
- P N :
-
net photosynthetic rate
- qN :
-
nonphotochemical quenching coefficient
- R D :
-
dark respiration rate
- ROS:
-
reactive oxygen species
- SOD:
-
superoxide dismutase
- a:
-
initial slope
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Acknowledgements: We thank to the programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41475107) and National Science & Technology Support Program during the Twelfth Five Year Plan Period (Grant No. 2014BAD10B07).
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Yang, Z.Q., Yuan, C.H., Han, W. et al. Effects of low irradiation on photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities in cucumber during ripening stage. Photosynthetica 54, 251–258 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-015-0179-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-015-0179-1