'Cleopatra' tangerine (Citrus reshni Hort. ex Tanaka) seedlings were irrigated daily for 8 weeks with 1/4 strength Hoagland's nutrient solution containing 0 (control) or 2 mM aluminum (Al). Leaves from Al-treated plants had decreased CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance, but increased intercellular CO2 concentrations compared with control leaves. On a leaf area basis, 2 mM Al increased act...

The chlorophyll fluorescence imaging technique is a valuable tool to study the impact of heavy metal stress in plants. The aim of this paper was to investigate the influence of Cd on photosynthetic apparatus of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea subsp. capitata f. alba) plants. Two cabbage cultivars ‘Ditmarska Najwcześniejsza’ (‘DN’; early) and ‘Amager Polana’ (‘AP’; late) were used. Cd was appli...

ce has become one of the most powerful methods for assessing photosynthetic performance in plant physiological experiments (Horton and Bowyer, 1990; Krause and Weis, 1991). This has resulted almost entirely from the development of methods to distinguish photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching of fluorescence. Moreover, it is now clear that the process of nonphotochemical quenching itself i...

In diatoms, the non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (NPQ) regulates photosynthesis during light fluctuations. NPQ is associated with an enzymatic xanthophyll cycle (XC) which is controlled by the light-driven transthylakoid proton gradient (delta pH). In this report, special illumination conditions and chemicals were used to perturb the kinetics of the delta pH build-up, of the XC and of N...

The light-harvesting complexes of plants have evolved the ability to switch between efficient light harvesting and quenching forms to optimize photosynthesis in response to the environment. Several distinct mechanisms, collectively termed "nonphotochemical quenching" (NPQ), provide flexibility in this response. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a mutant, suppressor of quenchi...

We investigated the utility of adducts formed by the reaction of the naphthalene metabolites naphthalene-1,2-oxide, 1,2-naphthoquinone (1,2-NPQ), and 1,4-naphthoquinone (1,4-NPQ) with serum albumin (Alb) as biomarkers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Cysteinyl serum Alb adducts of 1,2- and 1,4-NPQ (1,2-NPQ-Alb and 1,4-NPQ-Alb, respectively) but not of naphthalene-1,2-oxide were ...

The dissipation of energy as heat is essential for photosynthetic organisms to protect themselves against excess light. We compared Photosystem II florescence changes (non-photochemical quenching, NPQ) in the brown alga Macrocystis pyrifera with that of Ficus sp., a higher plant to examine if the mechanism of heat dissipation (energy-dependent quenching, qE) differs between these evolutionary d...

As a response to high light, plants have evolved non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), mechanisms that lead to the dissipation of excess absorbed light energy as heat, thereby minimizing the formation of dangerous oxygen radicals. One component of NPQ is pH dependent and involves the formation of zeaxanthin from violaxanthin. The enzyme responsible for the conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin ...

Photosynthesis uses light as a source of energy but its excess can result in production of harmful oxygen radicals. To avoid any resulting damage, phototrophic organisms can employ a process known as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), where excess light energy is safely dissipated as heat. The mechanism(s) of NPQ vary among different phototrophs. Here, we describe a new type of NPQ in the organ...