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Quantification of cyclic electron flow around Photosystem I in spinach leaves during photosynthetic induction

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Abstract

The variation of the rate of cyclic electron transport around Photosystem I (PS I) during photosynthetic induction was investigated by illuminating dark-adapted spinach leaf discs with red + far-red actinic light for a varied duration, followed by abruptly turning off the light. The post-illumination re-reduction kinetics of P700+, the oxidized form of the photoactive chlorophyll of the reaction centre of PS I (normalized to the total P700 content), was well described by the sum of three negative exponential terms. The analysis gave a light-induced total electron flux from which the linear electron flux through PS II and PS I could be subtracted, yielding a cyclic electron flux. Our results show that the cyclic electron flux was small in the very early phase of photosynthetic induction, rose to a maximum at about 30 s of illumination, and declined subsequently to <10% of the total electron flux in the steady state. Further, this cyclic electron flow, largely responsible for the fast and intermediate exponential decays, was sensitive to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea, suggesting an important role of redox poising of the cyclic components for optimal function. Significantly, our results demonstrate that analysis of the post-illumination re-reduction kinetics of P700+ allows the quantification of the cyclic electron flux in intact leaves by a relatively straightforward method.

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Abbreviations

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

Chl:

Chlorophyll

DCMU:

3-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea

Fd:

Ferredoxin

F v′ and F m′:

Variable and maximum Chl fluorescence during illumination

MV:

Methyl viologen

NADP+ :

Oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

P700:

Photoactive Chl of the reaction centre of PS I

PS I and PS II:

Photosystem I and II, respectively

PQ:

Plastoquinone

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Acknowledgements

DF is supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90302004) and Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX2-SW-109). Partial financial support of this project from an ARC grant DP 0665363 to BJP and WSC is gratefully acknowledged. ABH is grateful for a Visiting Fellowship from RSBS, ANU. We thank Jan Anderson and Tom Wydrzynski for constructive comments on the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Qin Nie

    Present address: College of Resources and Planning Sciences, Jishou University, Jishou, Hunan Province, 427000, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China

    Da-Yong Fan

  2. Photobioenergetics Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Da-Yong Fan, Qin Nie, Warwick Hillier & Wah Soon Chow

  3. Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia

    Alexander B. Hope

  4. School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Barry J. Pogson

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  1. Da-Yong Fan
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  2. Qin Nie
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Correspondence to Wah Soon Chow.

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Fan, DY., Nie, Q., Hope, A.B. et al. Quantification of cyclic electron flow around Photosystem I in spinach leaves during photosynthetic induction. Photosynth Res 94, 347–357 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-006-9127-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-006-9127-z

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