Shinkarev Vp",govindjee, INSIGHT INTO THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHLOROPHYLL-A FLUORESCENCE YIELD TO THE CONCENTRATION OF ITS NATURAL QUENCHERS IN OXYGENIC PHOTOSYNTHESIS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 90(16), 1993, pp. 7466-7469
Fluorescence of chlorophyll a (Chla) is a noninvasive and very sensiti
ve intrinsic probe of photosynthesis. It monitors the composition and
organization of the photosystems, the exciton energy transfer, the pho
tochemistry, and the effects of various types of stress on plants. It
is the most used as well as the most abused tool in photosynthesis. Th
us, an understanding of its relationship to photosynthesis has been of
paramount importance. Both the oxidized primary plastoquinone, Q(A),
and the oxidized primary reaction-center Chla, P680+ (for short, P+),
are known to be quenchers of Chla fluorescence yield (phi(f)) of photo
system II. Flash-number dependence of Chla fluorescence yield shows ei
ther a period 4, due to the four-step charge-accumulation process of w
ater oxidation (donor side), or period 2 behavior, due to the two-step
reduction of the plastoquinone Q(B) (acceptor side) of photosystem II
reaction centers. We provide here a further insight into the relation
ship of variable Chla fluorescence yield (psi(f)) to the concentration
of the two quenchers. The observed time dependence of the ratio of ps
i(f) after flash 3 to that after flash 1 (or flash 5) in spinach thyla
koids at pH 6 can be explained if we suggest that 1/phi(f) congruent-t
o a[PQ(A)] + b[P+] + c, where a, b, and c are constants. From this it
follows that the quenching of Chla fluorescence by P680+ after a flash
is dependent on Q(A): for low [Q(A)] (when most reaction centers are
ClOsed, [PQ(A)] is low) the quenching of Chla fluorescence by P680+ pr
edominates, while for high [Q(A)] (when most reaction centers are open
), the quenching of Chla fluorescence is due predominantly to the incr
eased concentration of the reduced form of P680 ([P+] is low).