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A non-invasive assay of the plastoquinone pool redox state based on the OJIP-transient

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Abstract

The plastoquinone (PQ) pool of the photosynthetic electron transport chain becomes reduced under anaerobic conditions. Here, anaerobiosis was used as a tool to manipulate the PQ-pool redox state in darkness and to study the effects of the PQ-redox state on the Chl-a fluorescence (OJIP) kinetics in pea leaves (Pisum sativum L.). It is shown that the FJ (fluorescence intensity at 3 ms) is linearly related to the area above the OJ-phase (first 3 ms) representing the reduction of the acceptor side of photosystem II (PSII) and FJ is also linearly related to the area above the JI-phase (3–30 ms) that parallels the reduction of the PQ-pool. This means that FJ depends on the availability of oxidized PQ-molecules bound to the QB-site. The linear relationships between FJ and the two areas indicate that FJ is not sensitive to energy transfer between PSII-antennae (connectivity). It is further shown that a ∼94% reduced PQ-pool is in equilibrium with a ∼19% reduction of QA (primary quinone acceptor of PSII). The non-linear relationship between the initial fluorescence value (F20 μs) and the area above the OJ-phase supports the idea that F20 μs is sensitive to connectivity. This is reinforced by the observation that this non-linearity can be overcome by transforming the F20 μs-values into [QA −]-values.

Based on the FJ-value of the OJIP-transient, a simple method for the quantification of the redox state of the PQ-pool is proposed.

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Abbreviations

Chl:

Chlorophyll

DCMU:

3-(3′,4′-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea

FNR:

Ferredoxin-NADP+-reductase

F0 :

Fluorescence intensity at 20 μs when all reaction centres are open

F20 μs :

Fluorescence intensity measured at 20 μs, also called apparent F0

FJ :

Fluorescence intensity at ∼3 ms

FJ-ox :

FJ-value after 10 s of far-red pre-illumination

FI :

Fluorescence intensity at ∼30 ms

Fp :

The maximum measured fluorescence intensity

Fm :

Fluorescence intensity when all PSII reaction centres are closed

I820 nm :

A measure for the transmitted light at 820 nm

I820 nm-10s FR:

Transmission value obtained after 10 s of far-red illumination

OJIP-transient:

Fluorescence induction transient defined by the names of its intermediate steps

P680 and P700:

The primary electron donors of photosystems II and I, respectively

PC:

Plastocyanin

PQ:

Plastoquinone

QA and QB :

Primary and secondary quinone electron acceptors of photosystem II, respectively

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr M. Tsimilli-Michael for her critical comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Szilvia Z. Tóth

    Present address: Institute of Plant Biology, Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 521, 6701, Szeged, Hungary

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Bioenergetics, University of Geneva, Chemin des Embrouchis 10, CH-1254, Jussy, Geneva, Switzerland

    Szilvia Z. Tóth, Gert Schansker & Reto J. Strasser

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  1. Szilvia Z. Tóth
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Correspondence to Gert Schansker.

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Szilvia Z. Tóth and Gert Schansker contributed equally to this study.

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Tóth, S.Z., Schansker, G. & Strasser, R.J. A non-invasive assay of the plastoquinone pool redox state based on the OJIP-transient. Photosynth Res 93, 193–203 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-007-9179-8

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