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Light-induced fluorescence quenching in the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex

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Summary

Irradiation of the principal photosystem II light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein antenna complex, LHC II, with high light intensities brings about a pronounced quenching of the chlorophyll fluorescence. Illumination of isolated thylakoids with high light intensities generates the formation of quenching centres within LHC II in vivo, as demonstrated by fluorescence excitation spectroscopy. In the isolated complex it is demonstrated that the light-induced fluorescence quenching: a) shows a partial, biphasic reversibility in the dark; b) is approximately proportional to the light intensity; c) is almost independent of temperature in the range 0–30°C; d) is substantially insensitive to protein modifying reagents and treatments; e) occurs in the absence of oxygen. A possible physiological importance of the phenomenon is discussed in terms of a mechanism capable of dissipating excess excitation energy within the photosystem II antenna.

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Abbreviations

chla :

chlorophyll a

chlb :

chlorophyll b

F0 :

fluorescence yield with reaction centers open

Fm :

fluorescence yield with reaction centres closed

Fi :

fluorescence at the plateau level of the fast induction phase

LHC II:

light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex II

PS II:

photosystem II

PSI:

photosystem I

Tricine:

N-[2-hydroxy-1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]glycine

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro CNR Biologia Cellulare e Molecolare delle Piante, Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Milano, via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Robert C. Jennings, Flavio M. Garlaschi & Giuseppe Zucchelli

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  1. Robert C. Jennings
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  2. Flavio M. Garlaschi
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  3. Giuseppe Zucchelli
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Jennings, R.C., Garlaschi, F.M. & Zucchelli, G. Light-induced fluorescence quenching in the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex. Photosynth Res 27, 57–64 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029976

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029976

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