Examination of chlorophyll fluorescence decay kinetics in sulfur deprived algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Chlorophyll fluorescence decay kinetics was measured in sulfur deprived cells of green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with a home made picosecond fluorescence laser spectrometer. The measurements were carried out on samples either shortly adapted to the dark (‘Fo conditions’) or treated to reduce Qa (‘Fm conditions’). Bi-exponential fitting of decay kinetics was applied to distinguish two components one of them related to energy trapping (fast component) and the other to charge stabilization and recombination in PS 2 reaction centers (slow component). It was found that the slow component yield increased by 2.0 and 1.2 times when measured under ‘Fo’ and ‘Fm conditions’, respectively, in sulfur deprived cells as compared to control ones. An additional rapid rise of the slow component yield was observed when incubation was carried out in a sealed bioreactor and cell culture turned to anaerobic conditions. The obtained results strongly indicate the existence of the redox control of PS 2 activity during multiphase adaptation of C. reinhardtii to sulfur deficiency stress. Probable mechanisms responsible for the observed increased recombinant fluorescence yield in starved cells are discussed.