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Effects of exogenous β-carotene, a chemical scavenger of singlet oxygen, on the millisecond rise of chlorophyll a fluorescence of cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942

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Abstract

Singlet-excited oxygen (1O *2 ) has been recognized as the most destructive member of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are formed during oxygenic photosynthesis by plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. ROS and 1O *2 are known to damage protein and phospholipid structures and to impair photosynthetic electron transport and de novo protein synthesis. Partial protection is afforded to photosynthetic organism by the β-carotene (β-Car) molecules which accompany chlorophyll (Chl) a in the pigment-protein complexes of Photosystem II (PS II). In this paper, we studied the effects of exogenously added β-Car on the initial kinetic rise of Chl a fluorescence (10–1000 μs, the OJ segment) from the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC7942. We show that the added β-Car enhances Chl a fluorescence when it is excited at an intensity of 3000 μmol photons m−2 s−1 but not when excited at 1000 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Since β-Car is an efficient scavenger of 1O *2 , as well as a quencher of 3Chl a * (precursor of 1O *2 ), both of which are more abundant at higher excitations, we assume that the higher Chl a fluorescence in its presence signifies a protective effect against photo-oxidative damages of Chl proteins. The protective effect of added β-Car is not observed in O2-depleted cell suspensions. Lastly, in contrast to β-Car, a water-insoluble molecule, a water-soluble scavenger of 1O *2 , histidine, provides no protection to Chl proteins during the same time period (10–1000 μs).

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Abbreviations

β-Car:

β-Carotene

Chl:

Chlorophyll

DCMU:

3-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

GO:

Glucose oxidase

PS I, PS II:

Photosystem I, photosystem II

PQ-pool:

Plastoquinones shuttling electrons between PS II and PS I

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

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Acknowledgments

Govindjee thanks for a visiting professorship at the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biosciences and Applications, National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310, Athens, Greece

    Kostas Stamatakis & George C. Papageorgiou

  2. Department of Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, and Center of Biophysics & Comparative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Champaign, IL, 61801, USA

    Govindjee

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  1. Kostas Stamatakis
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  2. George C. Papageorgiou
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  3. Govindjee
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Correspondence to George C. Papageorgiou.

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Stamatakis, K., Papageorgiou, G.C. & Govindjee Effects of exogenous β-carotene, a chemical scavenger of singlet oxygen, on the millisecond rise of chlorophyll a fluorescence of cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Photosynth Res 130, 317–324 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-016-0255-9

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