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Photosynthetic capacity of the capsule wall and its contribution to carbon fixation and seed yield in castor (Ricinus communis L.)

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Abstract

Defoliation occurs in castor due to several reasons, but the crop has propensity to compensate for the seed yield. Photosynthetic efficiency in terms of functional (gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence) and structural characteristics (photosynthetic pigment profiles and anatomical properties) of castor capsule walls under light- and dark-adapted conditions was compared with that of leaves. Capsule wall showed high intrinsic efficiency of photosystem II (F v/F m, 0.82) which was comparable to leaves (F v/F m, 0.80). With increasing photon flux densities (PFD), actual quantum yields and photochemical quenching coefficients of the capsule walls were similar to that in leaves, while electron transport rates reached a maximum corresponding to about 118 % of the leaves. However, maximum net photosynthetic rate of the capsule walls (2.60 µmol CO2 m−2 s−1) was less than one-fourth of the leaves (15.67 µmol CO2 m−2 s−1) at the CO2 concentration of 400 µmol mol−1, and the difference was attributed to about 80 % lower stomatal density and the 75 % lower total chlorophyll content of capsule walls than the leaves. Furthermore, seed weight in dark-adapted capsules was 2.70–12.42 % less as compared to the capsules developed under light. The results indicate that castor capsule walls are photosynthetically active (about 15–30 % of the leaves) and contribute significantly to carbon fixation and seed yield accounting for 10 % photoassimilates towards seed weight.

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Abbreviations

F m :

The maximal fluorescence

F o′:

The maximal fluorescence in the light-adapted state

F o :

The minimal fluorescence

F o′:

The minimal fluorescence in the light-adapted state

F s :

The steady-state fluorescence value

qP:

The photochemical quenching

qN:

The non-photochemical quenching

PFD:

The photon flux density

Chl a + b :

Chlorophyll content

C i :

The intercellular CO2 concentration

P N :

Net photosynthesis

R d :

Dark respiration

PS:

Photosystem

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Xiang Zhang for gas exchange measurement and Xuewei Fu for chlorophyll fluorescence measurement. This work was supported by the National Science and technology support program (2015BAD15B02), NSFC grants (31401421 and 31501034) and the “Hundreds of Talents” program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (to AL) and TWAS-CAS (to MS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Oil Crops, Institute of Crops, Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanchang, 330200, China

    Yang Zhang

  2. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming, 650204, China

    Aizhong Liu

  3. ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500 030, Telangana, India

    Sujatha Mulpuri

  4. Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Farming System for the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanchang, 330200, China

    Yang Zhang

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  1. Yang Zhang
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Communicated by K. Apostol.

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Zhang, Y., Mulpuri, S. & Liu, A. Photosynthetic capacity of the capsule wall and its contribution to carbon fixation and seed yield in castor (Ricinus communis L.). Acta Physiol Plant 38, 245 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2263-y

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