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May photoinhibition be a consequence, rather than a cause, of limited plant productivity?

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Abstract

Photoinhibition in leaves in response to high and/or excess light, consisting of a decrease in photosynthesis and/or photosynthetic efficiency, is frequently equated to photodamage and often invoked as being responsible for decreased plant growth and productivity. However, a review of the literature reveals that photoinhibited leaves characterized for foliar carbohydrate levels were invariably found to possess high levels of sugars and starch. We propose that photoinhibition should be placed in the context of whole-plant source–sink regulation of photosynthesis. Photoinhibition may represent downregulation of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to excess light when (1) more sugar is produced in leaves than can be utilized by the rest of the plant and/or (2) more light energy is harvested than can be utilized by the chloroplast for the fixation of carbon dioxide into sugars.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (Award Numbers IOS-0841546 and DEB-1022236) and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0334, USA

    William W. Adams III, Onno Muller, Christopher M. Cohu & Barbara Demmig-Adams

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  1. William W. Adams III
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Correspondence to William W. Adams III.

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Adams, W.W., Muller, O., Cohu, C.M. et al. May photoinhibition be a consequence, rather than a cause, of limited plant productivity?. Photosynth Res 117, 31–44 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-013-9849-7

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