To determine what factors limit the growth of wild Fritillaria cirrhosa and Fritillaria delavayi in field conditions, we investigated diurnal changes of the net photosynthetic rate (PN) and the correlation between PN and various environmental factors. Parameters of chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence were evaluated to test whether ecological fragility caused the extinction of wild F. cirrhosa and F. delavayi. Our study reveals for the first time that F. cirrhosa and F. delavayi did not encounter significant stress under field conditions. A small reduction in maximum photochemical efficiency was observed under high irradiance. The maximum PN of F. cirrhosa was 30 % higher than F. delavayi (p<0.05), and a similar difference was observed for apparent quantum yield (27.3 %, p<0.01). F. delavayi was better adapted to a wide range of irradiances and high environmental temperature. Correlation between PN and environmental factors (without considering the effects of interactions among environmental factors on PN) using leaves of F. cirrhosa revealed that the three primary influencing factors were air pressure (p<0.01), relative humidity (p<0.01), and soil temperature (p<0.05). In F. delavayi, the influencing factors were relative humidity (p<0.01), soil temperature (p<0.05), CO2 concentration (p<0.05), and air pressure (p<0.05). Path analysis (considering effects among environmental factors on PN) showed that air temperature (negative correlation), photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and relative humidity were the three primary limiting factors influencing the growth of F. cirrhosa. For this species, relative humidity reacted indirectly with air pressure, which was reported singularly in other species. Limiting growth factors for F. delavayi were PPFD, air pressure (negative correlation), soil temperature (negative correlation) and air temperature (negative correlation). and Xi-Wen Li, Shi-Lin Chen.
The photochemical activity of native Central Siberian Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L) was estimated from the middle of February to the middle of March 2001. We measured chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence in attached intact needles from trees located approx. 30 km west of the Yenisey river (60°44'N, 89°09'E) near the village of Zotino. In this period, the air temperature varied between -39 °C and +7 °C. At temperatures below -10 °C, P. sylvestris needles did not exhibit any variable Chl fluorescence during the daylight period. During the night, however, the effective quantum yield of photosystem 2 (PS2) photochemistry, Φ2 [Φ2 = (Fm' - Ft)/Fm'), increased from values near zero to values between 0.05 and 0.20 depending on the needle temperature and sample investigated. The increase started soon after dusk and lasted for 3-6 h depending on the temperature. A faster increase of Φ2 was found for temperatures around -16 °C, and lower rates occurred at lower temperatures. Irrespective of the temperature, Φ2 decreased rapidly to near zero values at dawn, when the photosynthetic photon flux density increased to about 1-5 µmol m-2 s-1, and remained near zero throughout the day. At temperatures higher than -10 °C, the diurnal decrease and the nocturnal increase of Φ2 were less distinct or disappeared completely. Hence the winter-adapted Scots pine maintains some photochemical activity of PS2 even at extremely cold temperatures. The capacity of photochemical reactions below -10 °C is, however, very limited and PS2 photochemistry is saturated by an extremely low irradiance (less than 5 µmol m-2 s-1). and P. Šiffel, J. Šantrůček.
In field-grown Cyamopsis seedlings, distinct changes were found in the rates of photosystems (PS) 2 and 1 activities at different time of the day. Maximum PS2 activity was at around 11:00 h and decreased thereafter. On the contrary, PS1 activity continued to increase up to 14:00 h and declined in evening hours. Significant energy transfer from PS2 to PS1 was evident during the morning and evening hours of the day whereas a slow excitation of PS2 and energy transfer was favoured during noon hours. and K. Lingakumar, G. Kulandaivelu.
In order to elucidate the effects of chilling-stress at night on photosystem 2 (PS2) efficiency under dim irradiance (DI), mango leaves were chilled to varied extent (8-3 °C) and for varied duration (0-12 h) in growth cabinets in the dark, and then exposed to DI (20 μmol m-2 s-1 PPFD) at each chilling-temperature for 1 h. Chilling in the dark had little effect on Fv/Fm of mango leaves. But both the extent and duration of chilling pre-treatments significantly affected Fv'/Fm' when leaves were exposed to DI. This down-regulation of PS2 efficiency was closely related to xanthophyll de-epoxidation, assessed as photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and calculated from leaf spectral reflectance [(R531 - R570)/(R531 + R570)], and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). The down-regulation of PS2 is a defence mechanism initiated at predawn in winter to alleviate the damage of PS2 by the sudden and strong irradiation at sunrise. Mango leaves, transferred suddenly from warm and dark room to DI and chilling showed a slight down-regulation of PS2 efficiency, in spite of an increased xanthophyll de-epoxidation. This might have been due to the unavailability of some cofactors required for NPQ. and J.-H. Weng ... [et al.].
Drought was induced in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes (ChK 3226 and ILC 3279) differing in yield capacity. Water stress (S1, RWC around 55-50%; S2, RWC ≤ 40%) drastically reduced stomatal conductance (g s) and net photosynthetic rate (PN) in both genotypes. ILC 3279 showed greater photosynthetic capacity
(Amax) decreases. Maximum PSII photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching (qP), total chlorophylls (Chls) and carotenoids (Cars) content showed stability in both genotypes under stress, but in S2 ILC 3279 presented an increase in basal fluorescence (F0) and a greater reduction in estimation of quantum yield of linear electron transport (Φe) than ChK 3226. Membrane damage evaluated by electrolyte leakage occurred earlier and was greater in ILC 3279. It also presented a decrease of total fatty acids (TFA) along drought, while in ChK 3226 greater amounts of TFA were observed in S1. In rehydration, PN of S1 plants completely recovered (ILC 3279) or remained slightly below control (ChK 3226). As regards S2 plants, ILC 3279 showed stronger PN and gs reductions than ChK 3226, despite both genotypes totally recovered Amax and chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence. ChK 3226 recovered more efficiently from membrane damage. Under control conditions, greater amounts of most of the studied soluble metabolites occurred in ChK 3226 plants. Malate and citrate decreased with water stress (S2) in both genotypes. Sucrose and pinitol (that had a higher concentration than sucrose in both genotypes) increased in ILC 3279 (S1 and S2), and decreased in ChK 3226 (S2). In ILC 3279 proline and asparagine followed similar patterns. Genotypes showed a similar shoot dry mass (DM) in control plants, but root DM was higher in ChK 3226. Drought reduced root and shoot DM in ChK 3226 already under S1, while in ILC 3279 root DM was unaffected by drought and shoot biomass decreased only in S2. Root/shoot ratio was always higher in ChK 3226 but tended to decrease under stress, while the opposite was observed in ILC 3279. No pods were obtained from control plants of both genotypes, or droughted ILC 3279 plants. ChK 3226 produced pods under S1 (higher yield) and S2. Under stress conditions, ChK 3226 was less affected in photosynthetic activity and membrane integrity, showing a better tolerance to drought. This agrees with the better yield of this genotype under water stress. Distinct strategies seem to underlie the different physiological responses of the two genotypes to water deficit. In spite of its significant solutes accumulation, ILC 3279 was more affected in photosynthetic activity and membrane integrity during water stress than ChK 3226, which showed better yield, under drought. A relation could not be established between solutes accumulation of ILC 3279 and yield., and M. C. Matos ... [et al.].
We investigated the strategies of four co-occurring evergreen woody species Quercus ilex, Quercus coccifera, Pinus halepensis, and Juniperus phoenicea to cope with Mediterranean field conditions. For that purpose, stem water potential, gas exchange, chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence, and Chl and carotenoid (Car) contents were examined. We recognized two stress periods along the year, winter with low precipitation and low temperatures that led to chronic photoinhibition, and summer, when drought coincided with high radiation, leading to an increase of dynamic photoinhibition and a decrease of pigment content. Summer photoprotection was related to non-photochemical energy dissipation, electron flow to alternative sinks other than photosynthesis, decrease of Chl content, and proportional increase of Car content. Water potential of trees with deep vertical roots (Q. coccifera, Q. ilex, and P. halepensis) mainly depended on precipitation, whereas water potential of trees with shallow roots (J. phoenicea) depended not only on precipitation but also on ambient temperature. and F. J. Baquedano, F. J. Castillo.
Apple rootstock seedling M.9-T337 was selected to explore the effect of drought stress. The findings indicated that the relative water content of both the leaf and soil gradually decreased with an increase in drought stress. The water-use efficiency of the leaves increased gradually but decreased sharply after 20 d of drought. Changes in the gas-exchange parameters and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters reflected the gradual decrease in the photosynthetic capacity of the plants with drought stress duration. Infrared thermal imaging showed significant temperature differences between the drought-stressed and control plants after 15 d of drought treatment. When irreversible damage occurred under drought stress, the crop water-stress index and relative water content of the leaf and soil were 0.7, 60.5, and 17.8%, respectively. Based on the results, we formulated a drought stress-grade standard. Further, we established that the best time for irrigation is when drought stress reaches grade 3., D. T. Gao, C. Y. Shi, Q. L. Li, Z. F. Wei, L. Liu, J. R. Feng., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Maize (Zea mays) seedlings were exposed for 6 h to strong irradiance (1 000 μmol m-1 s-1 of PPFD) at 5, 12, 17, or 25 °C, followed by an exposure to the darkness for 6 h at 22 °C. Leaf chlorophyll fluorescence, net photosynthetic rate (PN), and the amount of superoxide radicals (O2-⋅) in relation to chilling-induced photoinhibition were investigated. During the photophase, a good correlation (r=-0.879) was observed between ΦPS2 (relative quantum efficiency of PS2 electron transport) and the amount of O2-⋅. Treatment with exogenous O2-⋅ reduced the PN and ΦPS2 as the chilling stress did, that was inhibited by specific scavenger of O2-⋅. Hence chilling-induced photoinhibition might be due to the production of O2-⋅. In contrast, in the dark period, PN and ΦPS2 of the seedlings treated with the exogenous O2-⋅ were enhanced, but they were inhibited by the specific scavenger of O2-⋅, showing the photoprotective role of O2-⋅ in the recovery phase. Furthermore, in terms of the effect of exogenous O2-⋅ on the xanthophyll cycle, the O2-⋅ production suggested a promotion effect for the de-epoxidation of violaxanthin during the photophase, the epoxidation of zeaxanthin at the dark stage, and the increase of the xanthophyll pool both in the photophase and dark phase, resulting in an enhancement of the ability of non-photochemical quenching to avoid or alleviate the damage to photosynthetic apparatus. and D. Ke, G. Sun, Y. Jiang.
Lichen thalli were exposed to 4 regimes differing in irradiance and duration of irradiation. Photosynthetic efficiency of thalli was monitored by chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and xanthophyll cycle analysis. Maximal quantum yield of photosystem 2 (FV/FM) decreased gradually with time in long-term treatment. The effect of additional short-term high irradiance (HI) treatment applied each 24 h was not significant. Nevertheless, short-term HI applied repeatedly on thalli kept in the dark led to a significant decrease of FV/FM. Non-photochemical quenching recorded during the long-term treatment corresponded to the content of zeaxanthin (Z). In short-term treatment, however, proportion of Z (and antheraxanthin) to total amount of xanthophyll cycle pigments recovered to the initial values every 24 h after each repeated short-term HI event in thalli kept in dark. Thus duration of irradiation rather than irradiance and frequency of HI events is important for a decrease in primary photosynthetic processes in wet thalli of Lasallia pustulata. Rapidly responding photoprotective mechanisms, such as conversion of xanthophyll cycle pigments, are involved mainly in short-term irradiation events, even at HI. and M. Barták ... [et al.].
Caragana korshinskii Kom. is a perennial xerophytic shrub, well known for its ability to resist drought. In order to study ecophysiological responses of C. korshinskii under extreme drought stress and subsequent rehydration, diurnal patterns of gas exchange and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence parameters of photosystem II as well as Chl content were analyzed. Plant responses to extreme drought included (1) leaf abscission and using stem for photosynthesis, (2) improved instantaneous water-use efficiency, (3) decreased photosynthetic rate and partly closed stomata owing to leaf abscission and low water status, (4) decreased maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) (variable to maximum fluorescence ratio, Fv/Fm), quantum efficiency of noncyclic electron transport of PSII, and Chl a and Chl b. Four days after rehydration, new leaves budded from stems. In the rewatered plants, the chloroplast function was restored, the gas exchange and Chl fluorescence returned to a similar level as control plant. The above result indicated that maintaining an active stem system after leaf abscission during extreme drought stress may be the foundation which engenders these mechanisms rapid regrowth for C. korshinskii in arid environment., D. H. Xu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii