The grand design of photosynthesis: Acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus to environmental cues

Dynamic acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to environmental cues, particularly light quantity and quality, is a widely-observed and important phenomenon which contributes to the tolerance of plants against stress and helps to maintain, as far as possible, optimal photosynthetic efficiency and resource utilization. This mini-review represents a scrutiny of a number of possible photoreceptors (including the two photosystems acting as light sensors) and signal transducers that may be involved in producing acclimation responses. We suggest that regulation by signal transduction may be effected at each of several possible points, and that there are multiple regulatory mechanisms for photosynthetic acclimation.Abbreviations FR far-red light - LHC I, LHC II light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex of PS I and PS II, respectively - P700 primary electron donor of PS I - Pmax maximum photosynthetic capacity - Q_A primary quinone electron acceptor of PS II - q_N, q_P non-photochemical and photochemical quenching, respectively - R red light