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Does photorespiration protect the photosynthetic apparatus in french bean leaves from photoinhibition during drought stress?

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Abstract

Ten days after withholding water from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Contender) plants net photosynthetic CO2 uptake by leaves declined and no net CO2 uptake occurred after 15d. A similar decline in stomatal conductance also occurred over this 15-d period. Leaf relative water content and tugor pressure remained very similar to that measured on control plants during most of the experimental period. The decline of net CO2 uptake by leaves during dehydration is attributed to stomatal closure since CO2-dependent O2 evolution measured on the same leaves at saturating light and CO2 concentration always remained identical to that of control plants. Dehydration of the leaves had no effect on the quantum yield of CO2-dependent O2 evolution during the experimental period. Leaves from dehydrating plants maintained in normal (21% O2 + 350 μmol·mol-1 CO2) air exhibited a substantial rate of photosynthetic activity (about 38% of that measured at saturation light and CO2 concentration) associated with O2 reduction. Decreasing the oxygen content of the air from 21% to 2% in order to inhibit photorespiration produced a decrease in the linear electron transport rate by ca. 65% However, inhibiting photosynthetic O2 reduction during high-light treatment did not increase the extent of photoinhibition of photosystem II photochemistry and did not change the amount of violaxanthin converted to zeaxanthin. It is concluded that photorespiration does not protect the photosynthetic apparatus against high-light damage during drought conditions. Thermal deactivation of energy in the photosystem II antennae appears to be the main protective mechanism against deleterious effects of high light.

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Abbreviations

A:

net CO2 uptake by leaves

F0:

chlorophyll fluorescence yield at steady-state photosynthesis when PSII centers are open immediately after exposure of the leaf to far red light

Fm :

maximum chlorophyll fluorescence yield when PSII centers are closed and the thylakoid membranes are in the non-energised state

Fm :

chlorophyll fluorescence yield at steady-state photosynthesis when PSII reaction centres are closed by a saturating actinic flash

Fs′ :

chlorophyll fluorescence yield at steady-state photosynthesis

gc :

leaf conductance for CO2

PPFD:

photosynthetically active photon flux density

qp :

photochemical quenching

Rubisco:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase

RWC:

relative water content of leaf

ψw, ψπ, ψp :

water, osmotic and pressure potentials, respectively

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Author notes

  1. Marian Brestic

    Present address: Katedra Fyziologie Rastlin, Agronomicka Fakulta Vysoka Skola Polnospodarska, 949 76, Nitra, Slovakia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d'Ecologie Végétale, Groupe Photosynthèse et Environnement Bât. 362, Université de Paris XI, F-91405, Orsay Cedex, France

    Marian Brestic & Gabriel Cornic

  2. Department of Biology, University of Essex, CO4 3SQ, Colchester, UK

    Michael J. Freyer & Neil R. Baker

Authors
  1. Marian Brestic
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  2. Gabriel Cornic
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  3. Michael J. Freyer
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  4. Neil R. Baker
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Additional information

M.B. was supported by a grant from the “ministère de la recherche et de la technologie” and a an EEC grant (Pays d'Europe Centrale et Orientale). This work was also supported in part by a grant to N.R.B. from the Agricultural and Food Research Council. N.R.B. is grateful to the Université de Paris-Sud XI for a visiting professorship. We thank B. Genty and J. Ghashghaie for helpful discussions.

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Brestic, M., Cornic, G., Freyer, M.J. et al. Does photorespiration protect the photosynthetic apparatus in french bean leaves from photoinhibition during drought stress?. Planta 196, 450–457 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203643

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203643

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