Zeaxanthin and the Heat Dissipation of Excess Light Energy in Nerium oleander Exposed to a Combination of High Light and Water Stress

Upon termination of watering of plants of Nerium oleander exposed to high light, photochemical efficiency became reduced as leaf water content decreased. Evidence is presented that this type of photoinhibition reflects to a substantial degree radiationless dissipation of excitation energy, probably mediated by the carotenoid zeaxanthin. During the imposition of water stress, the zeaxanthin content of leaves increased at the expense of violaxanthin and β-carotene as a water deficit developed over a period of several days. The increase in zeaxanthin content was linearly related to an increase in the rate of radiationless energy dissipation in the antenna chlorophyll as calculated from the characteristics of chlorophyll a fluorescence measured with a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer at room temperature. The increase in the rate of radiationless dissipation was also linearly related to a decrease in PSII photochemical efficiency as indicated by the ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence. Leaves of well-watered shade plants of N. oleander exposed to strong light showed a similar increase in zeaxanthin content as sun leaves of the same species subjected to drought in strong light. Shade leaves possessed the same capacity as sun leaves to form zeaxanthin at the expense of both violaxanthin and β-carotene. The resistance of this species to the destructive effects of excess light appears to be related to interconversions between β-carotene and the three carotenoids of the xanthophyll cycle.