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A model for describing the light response of the nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence

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Abstract

The operation of photosynthetic energy-dissipating processes is commonly characterized by measuring the light response of the nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence, or NPQ versus E curves. This study proposes a mathematical model for the quantitative description of the generic NPQ versus E curve. The model is an adaptation of the Hill equation and is based on the close dependence of NPQ on the xanthophyll cycle (XC). The model was tested on NPQ versus E curves measured in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the diatom Nitzschia palea, representing the two main types of XC, the violaxanthin–antheraxanthin–zeaxanthin (VAZ) type and the diadinoxanthin–diatoxanthin (DD–DT) type, respectively. The model was also fitted to a large number of published light curves, covering the widest possible range of XC types, taxa, growth conditions, and experimental protocol of curve generation. The model provided a very good fit to experimental and published data, coping with the large variability in curve characteristics. The model was further used to quantitatively compare the light responses of NPQ and of PSII electron transport rate, ETR, through the use of indices combining parameters of the models describing the two types of light–response curves. Their application to experimental and published data showed a systematic large delay of the buildup of NPQ relatively to the saturation of photochemistry. It was found that when ETR reaches saturation, NPQ is on average still below one fifth of its maximum attainable level, which is only reached at irradiances about three times higher. It was also found that organisms having the DD–DT type of XC appeared to be able to start operating the XC at lower irradiances than those of the VAZ type.

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Abbreviations

α:

Initial slope of the ETR versus E curve

Ax:

Antheraxanthin

DD:

Diadinoxanthin

DT:

Diatoxanthin

E :

PAR irradiance (μmol m−2 s−1)

E 50 :

Irradiance level corresponding to 50% of NPQm in a NPQ versus E curve

E k :

Light-saturation parameter of the ETR versus E curve

ETR:

PSII relative electron transport rate

ETRm :

Maximum ETR in a ETR versus E curve

Fo, Fm:

Minimum and maximum fluorescence of a dark-adapted sample

Fs, \( F_{\text{m}}^{'} \):

Steady state and maximum fluorescence of a light-adapted sample

NPQ:

Nonphotochemical quenching

NPQm :

Maximum NPQ value reached in a NPQ versus E curve

\( {\text{NPQ}}_{{E_{\text{k}} }} \) :

Fraction of NPQm reached when E = E k

n :

Sigmoidicity coefficient of the NPQ versus E curve

PSII:

Photosystem II

RLC:

Rapid light–response curve

VAZ:

Vx–Ax–Zx XC

Vx:

Violaxanthin

XC:

Xanthophyll cycle

Zx:

Zeaxanthin

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Acknowledgments

We thank Glória Pinto, Eleazar Rodriguez, and Armando Costa for helping with the seeding of the Arabidopsis plants. This study was supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, grant SFRH/BSAB/962/2009 to J. Serôdio, by the French consortium CPER-Littoral to J. Lavaud, and by the CNRS—Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (programme ‘chercheurs invités’) to both. We thank two anonymous reviewers for critical comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Departamento de Biologia and CESAM—Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    João Serôdio

  2. UMR CNRS 6250 “LIENSs,” Institute for Coastal and Environmental Research (ILE), University of La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17 000, La Rochelle, France

    Johann Lavaud

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  1. João Serôdio
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Correspondence to João Serôdio.

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Serôdio, J., Lavaud, J. A model for describing the light response of the nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence. Photosynth Res 108, 61–76 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-011-9654-0

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