Oy. Koroleva et al., PHOTOINHIBITION, XANTHOPHYLL CYCLE AND IN-VIVO CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE QUENCHING OF CHILLING-TOLERANT OXYRIA-DIGYNA AND CHILLING-SENSITIVEZEA-MAYS, Physiologia Plantarum, 92(4), 1994, pp. 577-584
The relationship between susceptibility to photoinhibition, zeaxanthin
formation and chlorophyll fluorescence quenching at suboptimal temper
atures was studied in chilling-sensitive maize and in non-acclimated a
nd cold-acclimated Oxyria digyna, a chilling-tolerant plant of arctic
and alpine habitats. In maize, zeaxanthin formation was strongly suppr
essed by chilling. Zeaxanthin formed during preillumination at 20 degr
ees C did not protect maize leaves from photoinhibition during a subse
quent high-light, low-temperature treatment, as judged from the ratios
of variable to maximal fluorescence, F-v/F-m. However, such preillumi
nation significantly increased non-photochemical quenching (q(N)) at l
ow temperatures, mainly due to an enhancement of the fast-relaxing q(N
) component (i.e., of energy-dependent quenching, q(E)). In O. digyna,
cold-acclimation resulted in an increased zeaxanthin formation in the
temperature range of 2.5-20 degrees C. Cold-acclimation substantially
decreased the susceptibility towards photoinhibition at 4 degrees C,
but q(N) remained nearly unchanged between 2 and 38 degrees C, as comp
ared to control plants. Effects of cold acclimation on photosynthesis,
photochemical quenching and quantum efficiency of photosystem II were
small and indicated a slight amelioration only of the function of the
photosynthetic apparatus at suboptimal temperatures (2-20 degrees C).
It is concluded, that the xanthophyll cycle is strongly influenced by
cold acclimation, while effects on the photosynthetic carbon assimila
tion only play a minor role in O. digyna.