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Photosynthesis, photoinhibition and low temperature acclimation in cold tolerant plants

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Abstract

Cold acclimation requires adjustment to a combination of light and low temperature, conditions which are potentially photoinhibitory. The photosynthetic response of plants to low temperature is dependent upon time of exposure and the developmental history of the leaves. Exposure of fully expanded leaves of winter cereals to short-term, low temperature shiftsinhibits whereas low temperature growthstimulates electron transport capacity and carbon assimilation. However, the photosynthetic response to low temperature is clearly species and cultivar dependent. Winter annuals and algae which actively grow and develop at low temperature and moderate irradiance acquire a resistance to irradiance 5- to 6-fold higher than their growth irradiance. Resistance to short-term photoinhibition (hours) in winter cereals is a reflection of the increased capacity to keep QA oxidized under high light conditions and low temperature. This is due to an increased capacity for photosynthesis. These characteristics reflect photosynthetic acclimation to low growth temperature and can be used to predict the freezing tolerance of cereals. It is proposed that the enhanced photosynthetic capacity reflects an increased flux of fixed carbon through to sucrose in source tissue as a consequence of the combined effects of increased storage of carbohydrate as fructans in the vacuole of leaf mesophyll cells and an enhanced export to the crown due to its increased sink activity. Long-term exposure (months) of cereals to low temperature photoinhibition indicates that this reduction of photochemical efficiency of PS II represents a stable, long-term down regulation of PS II to match the energy requirements for CO2 fixation. Thus, photoinhibition in vivo should be viewed as the capacity of plants to adjust photosynthetically to the prevailing environmental conditions rather than a process which necessarily results in damage or injury to plants. Not all cold tolerant, herbaceous annuals use the same mechanism to acquire resistance to photoinhibition. In contrast to annuals and algae, overwintering evergreens become dormant during the cold hardening period and generally remain susceptible to photoinhibition. It is concluded that the photosynthetic response to low temperatures and susceptibility to photoinhibition are consequences of the overwintering strategy of the plant species.

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Abbreviations

Asc:

ascorbate

BQ:

benzoquinone

CAP:

chloramphenicol

DAD:

diaminodurene

DCPIP:

dichlorophenolindophenol

DHA:

dehydroascorbate

DHQ:

dihydroduroquinone

DPH:

diphenylhexatriene

EPR:

electron spin resonance

FBP:

fructose bisphosphate

FBPase:

fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

F-2,6-BP:

fructose-2,6-bisphosphate

FO :

minimum fluorescence with all PS II traps open in dark adapted leaves

FM :

maximum fluorescence with all PS II traps closed in dark adapted leaves

FV :

variable fluorescence (FV=FM−FO)

FO ′ :

minimum fluorescence when all traps are open in light adapted leaves

FM ′ :

maximum fluorescence when all traps are closed in light adapted leaves

FV ′ :

variable fluorescence in light adapted leaves (FV ′=FM ′−FO ′)

H:

cold hardened state

HL:

high-light (1200 μmol m-2s-1) grown plants

LD:

plants grown with a 16 h photoperiod

LHC IIb:

oligomeric form of the light harvesting complex of PS II

LT50 :

freezing temperature at which 50% of the plants die

MDA:

monodehydroascorbate

MV:

methylviologen

NH:

nonhardened state

PCR:

photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle

PGA:

phosphoglycerate

PQ:

plastoquinone

PSmax:

maximum, light saturated rates of photosynthesis

qP :

photochemical quenching parameter

qN :

nonphotochemical quenching parameter

φPS II :

yield of PS II electron transport

(QA)ox :

oxidized form of the primary, stable electron acceptor for PS II

(QA)red :

reduced form of the primary, stable electron acceptor for PS II

RuBP:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate

SD:

plants grown with an 8 h photoperiod

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

SPS:

sucrose phosphate synthase

SUC-P:

sucrose phosphate

TMPD:

tetramethylphenylenediamine

TP:

triose phosphate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Western Ontario, N6A 5B7, London, Canada

    Norman P. A. Huner, Gunnar Öquist, Vaughan M. Hurry, Marianna Krol & Stefan Falk

  2. Department of Plant Physiology, University of Umeå, S-901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Marilyn Griffith

Authors
  1. Norman P. A. Huner
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  2. Gunnar Öquist
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  3. Vaughan M. Hurry
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  4. Marianna Krol
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  5. Stefan Falk
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  6. Marilyn Griffith
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Huner, N.P.A., Öquist, G., Hurry, V.M. et al. Photosynthesis, photoinhibition and low temperature acclimation in cold tolerant plants. Photosynth Res 37, 19–39 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185436

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185436

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