The response of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) to Zn/Cd contamination in soil was investigated using pot experiment. Plants were grown on soils containing increasing doses of two metals. Zn and Cd were applied alone or combined. Growth parameters as well as content of photosynthetic pigments, and photosynthetic performance were determined. Soil and plant tissue were analyzed by atomic absorptio...

The contribution of the unsaturation of membrane lipids to the ability of the photosynthetic machinery to tolerate temperature stress was studied in a transgenic cyanobacterium. Anacystis nidulans R2-SPc was transformed with the desA gene, which encodes the Delta12-desaturase that desaturates the fatty acids of membrane lipids in Synechocystis PCC6803. The transformant acquired the ability to i...

We set up a free-air ozone (O(3)) exposure system for determining the photosynthetic responses of Siebold's beech (Fagus crenata) and oak (Quercus mongolica var. crispula) to O(3) under field conditions. Ten-year-old saplings of beech and oak were exposed to an elevated O(3) concentration (60 nmol mol(-1)) during daytime from 6 August to 11 November 2011. Ozone significantly reduced the net pho...

Photosynthetic pigments, biochemical activities and chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics were investigated to survey the photosynthetic characteristics of Ginkgo biloba L. during leaf growth. The content of total chlorophyll increased rapidly while the content of carotenoids changed a little. The content of ATP, the activity of O2 evolution of chloroplasts, the electron transport activities, the...

Photosynthetic action spectra of several cyanobacteria show a peak at about 650 nm, the height of which is correlated with allophycocyanin content in the strains examined. Allophycocyanin harvests light more efficiently than do phycocyanin and phycoerythrin. The contribution of chlorophyll a absorption to photosynthetic activity is barely detectable in cells of normal pigment composition. Chlor...