Abstract
The effect of repeated exposure to high light (1200 μmol · m−2 · s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density, PPFD) at 5° C was examined in attached leaves of cold-grown spring (cv. Katepwa) and winter (cv. Kharkov) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) over an eight-week period. Under these conditions, Kharkov winter wheat exhibited a daily reduction of 24% in FV/FM (the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence in the dark-adapted state), in contrast to 41% for cold-grown Katepwa spring wheat. Both cultivars were able to recover from this daily suppression of FV/FM such that the leaves exhibited an average morning FV/FM of 0.651 ± 0.004. Fluorescence measurements made under steady-state conditions as a function of irradiance from 60 to 2000 μmol · m−2 · s−1 indicated that the yield of photosystem II (PSII) electron transport under light-saturating conditions was the same for photoinhibited and control cold-grown plants, regardless of cultivar. Repeated daily exposure to high light at low temperature did not increase resistance to short-term photoinhibition, although zeaxanthin levels increased by three- to fourfold. In addition, both cultivars increased the rate of dry-matter accumulation, relative to control plants maintained at 5° C and 250 μmol · m−2 · s−1 PPFD (10% and 28% for Katepwa and Kharkov, respectively), despite exhibiting suppressed fv/fm and reduced photon yields for O2 evolution following daily high-light treatments. Thus, although photosynthetic efficiency is suppressed by a longterm, photoinhibitory treatment, light-saturated rates of photosynthesis are sufficiently high during the high-light treatment to offset any reduction in photochemical efficiency of PSII. We suggest that in these cold-tolerant plants, photoinhibition of PSII may represent a longterm, stable, down-regulation of photochemistry to match the overall photosynthetic demand for ATP and reducing equivalents.
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Abbreviations
- Chl:
-
chlorophyll
- HL:
-
high light
- PPFD:
-
photosynthetic photon flux density
- FO :
-
minimum fluorescence in the dark-adapted state
- FM :
-
maximum fluorescence in the dark-adapted state
- FV :
-
maximum variable fluorescence in the dark-adapted state (FM-FO)
- FV/FV :
-
photosynthetic efficiency of the dark-adapted state
- fV′/fM′:
-
photosynthetic efficiency of the light-adapted steady state
- qP :
-
photochemical quenching parameter
- qN :
-
non-photochemical quenching parameter
- Φe :
-
yield of electron transport and equals qP · fV′/fM′
- 1-qO :
-
FO quenching parameter
- Φapp :
-
apparent photon yield.
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The assistance of Amy So is gratefully acknowledged. This research was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERCC) Operating Grant to N.P.A.H. G.Ö. was supported by an NSERCC International Exchange Award and the Swedish Natural Sciences Research Council.
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Hurry, V.M., Krol, M., Öquist, G. et al. Effect of long-term photoinhibition on growth and photosynthesis of cold-hardened spring and winter wheat. Planta 188, 369–375 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192804
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00192804