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Enhanced thermotolerance of photosystem II in salt-adapted plants of the halophyte Artemisia anethifolia

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Abstract

Thermotolerance of photosystem II (PSII) in leaves of salt-adapted Artemisia anethifolia L. plants (100–400 mM NaCl) was evaluated after exposure to heat stress (30–45°C) for 30 min. After exposure to 30°C, salt adaptation had no effects on the maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), the efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centers (Fv′/Fm′), or the actual PSII efficiency (ΦPSII). After pretreatment at 40°C, there was a striking difference in the responses of Fv/Fm, Fv′/Fm′ and ΦPSII to heat stress in non-salt-adapted and salt-adapted leaves. Leaves from salt-adapted plants maintained significantly higher values of Fv/Fm, Fv′/Fm′ and ΦPSII than those from non-salt-adapted leaves. The differences in Fv/Fm, Fv′/Fm′ and ΦPSII between non-salt-adapted and salt-adapted plants persisted for at least 12 h following heat stress. These results clearly show that thermotolerance of PSII was enhanced in salt-adapted plants. This enhanced thermotolerance was associated with an improvement in thermotolerance of the PSII reaction centers, the oxygen-evolving complexes and the light-harvesting complex. In addition, we observed that after exposure to 42.5°C for 30 min, non-salt-adapted plants showed a significant decrease in CO2 assimilation rate while in salt-adapted plants CO2 assimilation rate was either maintained or even increased to some extent. Given that photosynthesis is considered to be the physiological process most sensitive to high-temperature damage and that PSII appears to be the most heat-sensitive part of the photosynthetic apparatus, enhanced thermotolerance of PSII may be of significance for A. anethifolia, a halophyte plant, which grows in the high-salinity regions in the north of China, where the air temperature in the summer is often as high as 45°C.

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Abbreviations

ABS :

Absorption

CS :

Optical cross-section

ET :

Energy flux for electron transport

DI :

Dissipation

F o and F m :

Minimal and maximal fluorescence in the dark-adapted state

F o ′ and F m :

Minimal and maximal fluorescence in the light-adapted state

F s :

Steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence level in the light-adapted state

F v /F m (φ Po ):

Maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry

F v ′/F m ′:

Efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII centers

Φ PSII :

Actual PSII efficiency

ψ o :

Efficiency with which a trapped exciton can move an electron into the electron transport chain further than QA−

φ Eo :

Quantum yield of electron transport beyond QA

RC :

Reaction center

TR :

Energy flux for trapping

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the referees for their constructive comments in revising the manuscript and Dr. R Rodriguez for providing the Biolyzer software for the analysis of the JIP test. This study was supported by the Frontier Project of the Knowledge Innovation Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCXZ-SW-326) and support from the Program of 100 Distinguished Young Scientists of Chinese Academy of Sciences to Congming Lu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Photosynthesis Research Centre, Key Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Environmental Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, P. R. China

    Xiaogang Wen, Nianwei Qiu, Qingtao Lu & Congming Lu

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  1. Xiaogang Wen
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  2. Nianwei Qiu
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  3. Qingtao Lu
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  4. Congming Lu
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Correspondence to Congming Lu.

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Wen, X., Qiu, N., Lu, Q. et al. Enhanced thermotolerance of photosystem II in salt-adapted plants of the halophyte Artemisia anethifolia. Planta 220, 486–497 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1382-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1382-7

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