Acclimation of photosynthesis to low leaf water potentials

Photosynthesis is reduced at low leaf water potentials (Ψ_l) but repeated water deficits can decrease this reduction, resulting in photosynthetic acclimation. The contribution of the stomata and the chloroplasts to this acclimation is unknown. We evaluated stomatal and chloroplast contributions when soil-grown sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants were subjected to water deficit pretreatments for 2 weeks. The relationship between photosynthesis and Ψ_l, determined from gas-exchange and isopiestic thermocouple psychometry, was shifted 3 to 4 bars towards lower Ψ_l, in pretreated plants. Leaf diffusive resistance was similarly affected. Chloroplast activity, demonstrated in situ with measurements of quantum yield and the capacity to fix CO₂ at all partial pressures of CO₂, and in vitro by photosystem II activity of isolated organelles, was inhibited at low Ψ_l but less in pretreated plants than in control plants. The magnitude of this inhibition indicated that decreases in chloroplast activity contributed more than closure of stomata both to losses in photosynthesis and to the acclimation of photosynthesis to low Ψ_l.     

滇青冈幼苗的光合和生长对不同生长光强的适应

研究了3种光强(全日照的80%、20%和2%)下生长的滇青冈幼苗的光合-光强响应和生长状况。结果表明:3种光强生境滇青冈幼苗光饱和点和最大净光合速率没有显著差异,20%和2%生长光强下光补偿点显著低于80%生长光强。3种光强生境幼苗的光合饱和点在400~450μmol·m-2·s-1左右,光补偿点也很低(6~10μmol·m-2·s-1),表现出阴生植物的特征。但滇青冈幼苗较强的耐荫能力,是以牺牲生长为代价的。在2%的弱光生境中滇青冈幼苗比叶重显著降低,单位面积和单位干重叶绿素含量均显著增多,具有利用较强辐射的潜力,一旦林窗出现就可以利用增加的辐射提高光合速率,及时进入快速高生长。     

Acclimation of photosynthesis to light and canopy nitrogen distribution: an interpretation

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Acclimation of photosynthesis to light and its connection with canopy nitrogen (N) distribution are considered. An interpretation of a proportionality between light-saturated photosynthesis and local averaged leaf irradiance is proposed by means of a simple model. MODEL: The model assumes (a) local irradiance drives synthesis of photosynthetic protein from metabolic N; (b) photosynthetic N is slowly degraded over approx. 5-7 d; (c) metabolic N is equally available through the canopy. CONCLUSIONS: The kinetics of acclimation at different light levels may provide a way of parameterizing and testing the model. The model provides a rationale for the proportionality assumption mentioned above, which, while it is consistent with much experimental work, is valuable because it allows canopy photosynthesis to be calculated analytically.     

Acclimation of barley to changes in light intensity: chlorophyll organization

Barley seedlings (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Boone) were grown at 20°C with a 16h/8h light/dark cycle of either high (H) intensity (550 mole m^-2 s^-1) or low (L) intensity (55 mole m^-2 s^-1) white light. Plants were transferred from high to low (H L) or low to high (L H) light intensity at various times from 4 to 8 d after leaf emergence from the soil. Primary leaves were harvested at the beginning of the photoperiod and a 3 cm apical segment removed for analysis. H control plants had greater chlorophyll (Chl) per leaf area and higher Chl a/b ratios than L controls. Analysis of Chl-protein complexes revealed that H and L plants had the same percentage of total Chl (62–65%) associated with Photosystem II (PS II), but that the organization of Chl within PS II was different. H plants contained lower levels of light-harvesting complex (LHC-II) and higher levels of the PS II complex CPa compared with L plants. Leaf Chl content and Chl organization within PS II were sensitive to changes in light intensity. In H L plants, leaf Chl content decreased, Chl a/b ratio decreased, and a redistribution of Chl from CPa to LHC-II occurred during acclimation to low light. Acclimation of L H plants to high light involved an increase in leaf Chl content, an increase in Chl a/b ratio, and a decrease in LHC-II. In contrast, the level of photosystem I related Chl-protein complexes (CP1 + CP1a) was similar in all light treatments. The light acclimation process occurred slowly over a period of 6 to 8 d in H L and L H plants.Abbreviations DMF dimethylformamide - H control plants grown under high light intensity - H L plants transferred from high to low light intensity - L control plants grown under low light intensity - L H plants transferred from low to high light intensity Cooperative investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC. Paper No. 11989 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC 27695-7643, USA.     

光强对三种喀斯特植物幼苗生长和光合特性的影响

以块根紫金牛、地枫皮和秀丽海桐的2年生幼苗为材料,通过搭建遮阴棚设置3个光照强度,对其不同光强下的形态结构、生物量分配以及光合特性进行了比较研究,以探讨光强对喀斯特植物幼苗生长和光合特性的影响。结果表明:遮阴促进了3种喀斯特植物幼苗株高、总叶面积和冠面积等形态指标的增长。总体而言,3种植物幼苗的根生物量比和根冠比均随光强的增大而显著增大,叶生物量比、叶面积比和比叶面积均随光强的增大而显著降低。强光显著降低了地枫皮与块根紫金牛的净光合速率(Pn),非气孔限制是其Pn下降的主要因素;秀丽海桐的Pn随光强的升高而显著增大。遮阴显著增加了地枫皮和秀丽海桐的单位面积叶绿素含量,强光显著增加了块根紫金牛的单位面积类胡萝卜素含量、叶绿素a/b和类胡萝卜素/叶绿素比。地枫皮和块根紫金牛在50%遮阴强度下的总生物量最大,秀丽海桐总生物量随光强增大而显著增大。3种喀斯特植物幼苗对不同的光环境表现出较强的适应性,但强光不利于地枫皮和块根紫金牛幼苗的生长,而秀丽海桐幼苗对光的适应性很强。     

Survival in low light: photosynthesis and growth of a red alga in relation to measured in situ irradiance

Reduced light availability for benthic primary producers as a result of anthropogenic activities may be an important driver of change in coastal seas. However, our knowledge of the minimum light requirements for benthic macroalgae limits our understanding of how these changes may affect primary productivity and the functioning of coastal ecosystems. This knowledge gap is particularly acute in deeper water, where the impacts of increased light attenuation will be most severe. We examined the minimum light requirements of Anotrichium crinitum, which dominates near the maximum depth limit for macroalgae throughout New Zealand and Southern Australia, and is a functional analog of rhodophyte macroalgae in temperate low‐light (deep‐water) habitats throughout the world. These data show that A. crinitum is a shade‐adapted seaweed with modest light requirements for the initiation of net photosynthesis (1.49–2.25 μmol photons · m^?2 · s^?1) and growth (0.12–0.19 mol photons · m^?2 · d^?1). A. crinitum maintains high photosynthetic efficiency and pigment content and a low C:N ratio throughout the year and can maintain biomass under sub‐compensation (critical) light levels for at least 5 d. Nevertheless, in situ photon flux is less than the minimum light requirement for A. crinitum on at least 103 d per annum and is rarely sufficient to saturate growth. These findings reinforce the importance of understanding the physiological response of macroalgae at the extremes of environmental gradients and highlight the need to establish minimum thresholds that modification of the subtidal light environment should not cross.     

Acclimation of leaf growth to low water potentials in sunflower

Abstract Leaf growth is one of the most sensitive of plant processes to water deficits and is frequently inhibited in field crops. Plants were acclimated for 2 weeks under a moderate soil water deficit to determine whether the sensitivity of leaf growth could be altered by sustained exposure to low water potentials. Leaf growth under these conditions was less than in the controls because expansion occurred more slowly and for less of the day than in control leaves. However, acclimated leaves were able to grow at leaf water potentials (Ψ₁) low enough to inhibit growth completely in control plants. This ability was associated with osmotic adjustment and maintenance of turgor in the acclimated leaves. Upon rewatering, the growth of acclimated leaves increased but was less than the growth of controls, despite higher concentrations of cell solute and greater turgor in the acclimated leaves than in controls. Therefore, factors other than turgor and osmotic adjustment limited the growth of acclimated leaves at high ψ₁ Four potentially controlling factors were investigated and the results showed that acclimated leaves were less extensible and required more turgor to initiate growth than control leaves. The slow growth of acclimated leaves was not due to a decrease in the water potential gradient for water uptake, although changes in the apparent hydraulic conductivity for water transport could have occurred. It was concluded that leaf growth acclimated to low ψ₁, by adjusting osmotically, and the concomitant maintenance of turgor permitted growth where none otherwise would occur. However, changes in the extensibility of the tissue and the turgor necessary to initiate growth caused generally slow growth in the acclimated leaves.     

Acclimation of the diatom Stephanodiscus neoastraea and the cyanobacterium Planktothrix agardhii to simulated natural light fluctuations

Functional and structural characteristics of the photosynthetic apparatus were studied in the diatom Stephanodiscus neoastraea and the cyanobacterium Planktothrix agardhii which were grown semi-continuously under constant irradiance or under simulated natural light fluctuations. The light fluctuations consisted of 24 oscillations of exponentially increasing and decreasing irradiance over a 12-h light period. Maximum irradiance was 1100 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹ with the ratio of maximum to minimum intensities being 100, simulating Langmuir circulations with a ratio of euphotic to mixing depth of 1. S. neoastraea acclimated to the light fluctuations by doubling the number and halving the size of photosynthetic units (PS II) while the amount of chlorophylls and carotenoids remained unchanged. The chlorophyll-specific maximum photosynthetic rate was enhanced while the slope of the photosynthesis versus irradiance curves was not influenced by the light fluctuations. Acclimation of P. agardhii was mainly characterized by an increase in chlorophyll content. Both photosystems showed only little changes in number and size. Maximum photosynthetic rate, saturating irradiance and initial slope of the photosynthesis versus irradiance curves did not vary. Although both high and low light were contained in the fluctuating light, an analogy to low or high light acclimation was not found for the diatom nor for the cyanobacterium acclimated to light fluctuations. We suggest that the acclimation to fluctuating light is a response type outside the known scheme of low and high light acclimation. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sexual and vegetative phases in the planktonic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata

The planktonic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata (Takano) Takano is known to produce the toxin domoic acid and it is recorded during late summer and autumn in the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). We describe the sexual cycle of this species and report information on the variability of growth and cell size reduction rates at different experimental conditions. We induced sexual reproduction by crossing monoclonal cultures of opposite mating type. P. multistriata has a heterothallic life cycle that follows the general pattern reported for other congeneric species. Sexual stages were detected in cultures with an average apical length between 55 and 39 μm. The size of the initial cells produced at the end of the sexual phase was comprised between 72 and 82 μm and the lower cell size detected in culture was 26 μm. Sexual reproduction was thus recorded within a size window corresponding to 39–71% of the maximum cell apical length. Both growth performances and cell size reduction rates depend on cell size. The largest cells showed slower growth rates and larger size reduction rates at each division, while the relationship was opposite for cells smaller then 60% of the maximum size.     

Acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus to low light in a thermophilic Synechococcus sp. strain

Depending upon their growth responses to high and low irradiance, respectively, thermophilic Synechococcus sp. isolates from microbial mats associated with the effluent channels of Mushroom Spring, an alkaline siliceous hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, can be described as either high-light (HL) or low-light (LL) ecotypes. Strains isolated from the bottom of the photic zone grow more rapidly at low irradiance compared to strains isolated from the uppermost layer of the mat, which conversely grow better at high irradiance. The LL-ecotypes develop far-red absorbance and fluorescence emission features after growth in LL. These isolates have a unique gene cluster that encodes a putative cyanobacteriochrome denoted LcyA, a putative sensor histidine kinase; an allophycocyanin (FRL-AP; ApcD4-ApcB3) that absorbs far-red light; and a putative chlorophyll a-binding protein, denoted IsiX, which is homologous to IsiA. The emergence of FRL absorbance in LL-adapted cells of Synechococcus sp. strain A1463 was analyzed in cultures responding to differences in light intensity. The far-red absorbance phenotype arises from expression of a novel antenna complex containing the FRL-AP, ApcD4-ApcB3, which is produced when cells were grown at very low irradiance. Additionally, the two GAF domains of LcyA were shown to bind phycocyanobilin and a [4Fe-4S] cluster, respectively. These ligands potentially enable this photoreceptor to respond to a variety of environmental factors including irradiance, redox potential, and/or oxygen concentration. The products of the gene clusters specific to LL-ecotypes likely facilitate growth in low-light environments through a process called Low-Light Photoacclimation.

     

Acclimation of barley to changes in light intensity: photosynthetic electron transport activity and components

Barley seedlings (Hordeum vulgare L. Boone) were grown at 20°C with 16 h/8 h light/dark cycle of either high (H) intensity (500 mole m^-2 s^-1) or low (L) intensity (55 mole m^-2 s^-1) white light. Plants were transferred from high to low (H L) and low to high (L H) light intensity at various times from 4 to 8 d after leaf emergence from the soil. Primary leaves were harvested at the beginning of the photoperiod. Thylakoid membranes were isolated from 3 cm apical segments and assayed for photosynthetic electron transport, Photosystem II (PS II) atrazine-binding sites (Q_B), cytochrome f(Cytf) and the P-700 reaction center of Photosystem I (PS I). Whole chain, PS I and PS II electron transport activities were higher in H than in L controls. Q_B and Cytf were elevated in H plants compared with L plants. The acclimation of H L plants to low light occurred slowly over a period of 7 days and resulted in decreased whole chain and PS II electron transport with variable effects on PS I activity. The decrease in electron transport of H L plants was associated with a decrease in both Q_B and Cytf. In L H plants, acclimation to high light occurred slowly over a period of 7 days with increased whole chain, PS I and PS II activities. The increase in L H electron transport was associated with increased levels of Q_B and Cytf. In contrast to the light intensity effects on Q_B levels, the P-700 content was similar in both control and transferred plants. Therefore, PS II/PS I ratios were dependent on light environment.Abbreviations Asc ascorbate - BQ 2,5-dimethyl-p-benzoquinone - DBMIB 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone - DCIP 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol - H control plants grown under high light intensity - H L plants transferred from high to low light intensity - L low control plants grown under low light intensity - L H plants transferred from low to high light intensity - MV methyl viologen - P-700 photoreaction center of Photosystem I - Q_B atrazine binding site - TMPD N,N,N,N-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine Cooperative investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC. Paper No. 11990 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC 27695-7643, USA.     

Interactions between temperature and light intensity on growth and photosynthesis of the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria agardhii

Oscillatoria agardhii was grown in turbidostat cultures undera 16/8 h light/dark cycle at various combinations of light intensityand temperature. Temperature was found to influence only themaximal growth rate; this relationship was linear over the temperaturerange studied. An equation was derived describing the growthrate (µ) as a continuous function of light intensity andtemperature. The light harvesting pigments chlorophyll a andC-phycocyanin increased in concentration when growth becamelight limited. The regulation patterns observed did not suggestany influence of temperature on their steady state concentrations.The initial slope of the P versus I curves (     

Feeding,egg production,and egg hatching success of the copepods Acartia tonsa and Temora longicornis on diets of the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries and the non-toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pungens

In 1987, there was an episode of shellfish poisoning in Canada with human fatalities caused by the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries, which produced the toxin domoic acid. In order to examine whether domoic acid in this diatom serves as a grazing deterrent for copepods, we compared feeding rates, egg production rates, egg hatching success and mortality of the calanoid copepods Acartia tonsa and Temora longicornis feeding on unialgal diets of the toxic diatom P. multiseries and the similarly-sized non-toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pungens. Copepods were collected in summers of 1994, 1995 and 1996 from Shediac Bay, New Brunswick, Canada, near Prince Edward Island, the site of the 1987 episode of domoic acid shellfish poisoning. Rates of ingestion of the toxic versus the non-toxic diatom by A. tonsa and T. longicornis were similar, with only one significantly different pair of values obtained in 1994, for which A. tonsa had a higher mean rate of ingestion of the toxic than the non-toxic diatom. Thus, domoic acid did not appear to retard grazing. Analyses of copepods with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that copepods accumulated domoic acid when feeding on P. multiseries. Egg production rates of copepods when feeding on P. multiseries and P. pungens were very low, ranging from 0 to 2.79 eggs female^–1 d^–1. There did not appear to be differential egg production or egg hatching success on diets of the toxic and non-toxic diatoms. Mortality of females on the toxic diet was low, ranging from 0 to 20%, with a mean of 13%, and there was no apparent difference between mortality of copepods feeding on toxic versus non-toxic diatoms. Egg hatching success on both diets, although based on few eggs, ranged between 22% and 76%, with a mean percentage hatching of 45%. Diets of the non-toxic diatom plus natural seawater assemblages supplemented with dissolved domoic acid, revealed similar rates and percentages when compared to previous experiments. In summary, none of the variables measured indicated adverse effects on copepods feeding on the toxic compared to the non-toxic diatom.     

Effects of light intensity on the growth and diurnal variation of photosynthesis in Evod iarutaecarpa seedlings

报道了不同生长光强(透光率分别为15％、30％、50％、100％)对吴茱萸的生长和光合日变化的影响.结果表明:生长环境光强对吴茱萸苗期株高、地径和冠面积的影响较大,100％ RI下的株高、地径和冠面积明显小于各遮荫处理,其中30％ RI下吴茱萸的株高、地径和冠面积最大,这表明苗期强光不利于吴茱萸的生长.随着光强的减弱,吴茱萸增大冠面积与株高有利于截获更多光能.10月下旬,100％ RI下吴茱萸净光合速率(Pn)日变化曲线呈“双峰型”,11:30～14:30,吴茱萸的Pn、胞间二氧化碳浓度与气孔导度均下降,表明此时的光合午休现象是由气孔部分关闭造成的.各遮荫处理下,吴茱萸的Pn日变化均呈“单峰型”,并无第二峰的出现,可能与遮荫条件下,下午光强较弱,环境温度较高,空气相对湿度较低有关.     

Influence of light intensity on diel variations in rates of growth, respiration and organic release of a marine diatom: comparison of diurnally constant and fluctuating light

Effects of variations in light intensity on diel patterns ofgrowth, respiration and organic release of Skeletonema costatum(Grev.) Cleve in a cyclostat were evaluated. Light intensitywas either constant during the tight period at levels from 1500to 15 µEm^–2 s^–1 or fluctuated throughout thelight period from 500 to 10 µEm^–2 s^–1 at ratesof either 1 or 12 cycles day^–1. Periodicity in cell divisionwas observed only at light intensities of 130 Em^–2 s^–1and was decreased under diurnally varying tight. Under all lightconditions carbon and pigment growth were maximal during thelight period but well coupled throughout the 24 h period. Carbonassimilation during the dark period varied from 19 to 34% oftotal daily production and was a linear function of growth rate.Respiratory activity during the light period increased relativeto total daily respiration as growth rate increased. The increasein night-time carbon assimilation with growth rate interactedwith night-time respiration through the refixation of respiredcarbon, thus, influencing the pattern of respiratory loss ofcarbon. Rates of organic release (E^c) were maximal during thelight period and did variations consistently increased withtight intensity. Fluctuating light increased E^c relative toconstant light. Net growth efficiency was maximal at 130 µEm^–2s^–1 when cell division periodicity was greatest. Underother light conditions relatively higher rates of cell divisionoccorred at night and cell division periodicity was reducedas well as net growth efficiency. Cellular chemical fractionationindicated that under high or variable light conditions fixedcarbon was stored during the tight period for subsequent synthesisof protein and pigments, and division at night. Such an uncouplingof photosynthesis and other growth parameters resulted in greatermetabolic costs to the cell. ¹Present address: Marine Biology, Lamont Doherty GeologicalObservatory, Palisades, NY 10964, USA     

On the presence of Pseudo-nitzschia calliantha Lundholm, Moestrup et Hasle and Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima (Cleve) Heiden in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea, Italy)

This investigation included a 2-year monitoring program aimedat assessing the abundance and distribution of harmful marinephytoplankton along the Southern Adriatic coast of Italy. Monthlysampling was conducted from April 1995 to March 1997 at foursampling stations along four transects, to determine the temporaland spatial presence/abundance of the potentially toxic Pseudo-nitzschiaspecies. The study focussed on the most abundant taxa Pseudo-nitzschiacalliantha and Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima, the identitiesof which were confirmed by TEM on cleaned net material. Thedistribution patterns of these potential Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning(ASP) toxin producers were statistically analysed by GeneralisedLinear Model ANalysis Of VAriance, Principal Component Analysis(GLM ANOVA, PCA) and Spearman’s correlation analysis inorder to address relationships between environmental variableand population dynamics. Abundances displayed horizontal andvertical structure in the study area. Inter-annual variabilitywas also observed for both species that appeared to responddifferently to the environmental factors investigated. Distributionsof P. calliantha showed a stronger seasonality and was morecorrelated with winter water conditions than P. delicatissima,which in turn exhibited a broader temporal distribution andappeared independent from major environmental constraints. Thisis the first report of the occurrence and dynamics of P. callianthaand P. delicatissima populations in Southern Adriatic coastalwaters. First two authors equally contributed to this work.     

不同光环境对麻栎和刺槐幼苗生长和光合特征的影响

通过搭建遮阳棚设置3个光照强度,模拟森林幼苗生长的林缘、林窗和林下光环境,研究麻栎和刺槐幼苗形态结构、光合特性、生物量积累及其分配对不同光照强度的响应。结果表明,极度弱光环境限制了幼苗的株高、基径、总叶面积、冠面积、叶面积指数和总叶数等形态指标的增长,与全光环境相比,适度遮荫有利于幼苗的形态生长,光照对麻栎形态的异速生长曲线影响较小,刺槐较麻栎的曲线变化更明显一些,弱光降低了异速生长指数。随遮荫程度的增加,麻栎的净光合速率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度逐渐降低,刺槐的净光合速率则在适度遮荫下最大,两者的光能利用效率均显著增大,水分利用效率先升后降。随光照强度的减弱,麻栎各器官的生物量积累降低,叶面积比率的增加和根冠比的减少有利于增加光能的捕获,而刺槐的生物量积累和分配则在适度遮荫下达到最优;各叶绿素含量均显著上升,而叶绿素a/b则逐渐下降。麻栎和刺槐显示出不同的生存策略和光利用策略,在一定程度上可以揭示它们在阔叶林群落中不同的演替地位。