Photoinhibitory damage is modulated by the rate of photosynthesis and by the photosystem II light-harvesting chlorophyll antenna size

We investigated the effect of photosynthetic electron transport and of the photosystem II (PSII) chlorophyll (Chl) antenna size on the rate of PSII photoinhibitory damage. To modulate the rate of photosynthesis and the light-harvesting capacity in the unicellular chlorophyte Dunaliella salina Teod., we varied the amount of inorganic carbon in the culture medium. Cells were grown under high irradiance either with a limiting supply of inorganic carbon, provided by an initial concentration of 25 mM NaHCO₃, or with supplemental CO₂ bubbled in the form of 3% CO₂ in air. The NaHCO₃-grown cells displayed slow rates of photosynthesis and had a small PSII light-harvesting Chl antenna size (60 Chl molecules). The half-time of PSII photodamage was 40 min. When switched to supplemental CO₂ conditions, the rate of photodamage was retarded to a t_1/2 = 70 min. Conversely, CO₂-supplemented cells displayed faster rates of photosynthesis and a larger PSII light-harvesting Chl antenna size (500 Chl molecules). They also showed a rate of photodamage with t_1/2 = 40 min. When depleted of CO₂, the rate of photodamage was accelerated (t_1/2  = 20 min). These results indicate that the in-vivo susceptibility to photodamage is modulated by the rate of forward electron transport through PSII. Moreover, a large Chl antenna size enhances the rate of light absorption and photodamage and, therefore, counters the mitigating effect of forward electron transport. We propose that under steady-state photosynthesis, the rate of light absorption (determined by incident light intensity and PS Chl antenna size) and the rate of forward electron transport (determined by CO₂ availability) modulate the oxidation/reduction state of the primary PSII acceptor Q_A, which in turn defines the low/high probability for photodamage in the PSII reaction center. Received: 14 August 1997 / Accepted: 26 September 1997