Involvement of Singlet Oxygen in 5-Aminolevulinic Acid-Induced Photodynamic Damage of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Chloroplasts.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L., cv Poinsette) plants were sprayed with 20 millimolar 5-aminolevulinic acid and then incubated in the dark for 14 hours. The intact chloroplasts were isolated from the above plants in the dark and were exposed to weak light (250 micromoles per square meter per second). Within 30 minutes, photosystem II activity was reduced by 50%. The singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) scavengers, histidine and sodium azide (NaN(3)) significantly protected against the damage caused to photosystem II. The hydroxyl radical scavenger formate failed to protect the thylakoid membranes. The production of (1)O(2) monitored as N,N-dimethyl p-nitrosoaniline bleaching increased as a function of light exposure time of treated chloroplasts and was abolished by the (1)O(2) quencher, NaN(3). Membrane lipid peroxidation monitored as malondialdehyde production was also significantly reduced when chloroplasts were illuminated in the presence of NaN(3) and histidine. Protochlorophyllide was the most abundant pigment accumulated in intact chloroplasts isolated from 5-aminolevulinic acid-treated plants and was probably acting as type II photosensitizer.