Triazine Resistance without Reduced Vigor in Phalaris paradoxa

A triazine-resistant (R) biotype of Phalaris paradoxa L. (hood canarygrass) was superior to a triazine-susceptible (S) biotype in seed-germinability and seedling emergence. It was equal or superior to the S-biotype in growth under noncompetitive conditions. Rates of CO₂ uptake by R-plants were similar to those of S-plants, except at very low photon flux densities, where S-plants exhibited higher rates of CO₂ uptake. Fluorescence induction curves of chloroplasts isolated from R-plants indicated an alteration in photosystem II. Analysis of the light dependence of electron transport shows a reduction in quantum yield (Q_y) in R- compared to S-chloroplasts. The same analysis, however, shows for R-chloroplasts an increase in the light-saturated electron transport rate (V_max). The increase in V_max compensates for the reduction of Q_y over a wide range of photon flux densities, which may explain the similarity between R- and S-biotypes in photosynthetic potential and growth.