DELAYED CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE IN PLANT-MODELS

Delayed chlorophyll fluorescence (DF) is a light emission emitted by p lants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria immediately after their irrad iation, originating from chlorophyll-pigment complexes and permitted b y the entire entity of the photosynthetic apparatus. Although DF prese nts insignificant loss of energy potentially used in photosynthesis pr ocess, it is a very useful and non-invasive tool to study the ''light phase'' of photosynthesis. The review describes the DF phenomenon, off ers latest theories that explain it, presents current knowledge of its kinetic behaviour, and puts special emphasis on its temperature depen dence and eventual purpose. Finally, possible developments in future D F research are predicted.