title: Kinetics of prolonged photoinhibition revisited: photoinhibited Photosystem II centres do not protect the active ones against loss of oxygen evolution.
abstract: Photoinhibition of Photosystem II (PSII) in lincomycin-treated leaves begins as a first-order reaction, but fluorescence measurements have suggested that after prolonged illumination, the number of active PSII centres stabilizes to 15-20% of control. The stabilization has been interpreted to indicate that photoinhibited PSII centres protect the remaining active centres against photoinhibition (Lee, Hong and Chow, Planta 212:332-342, 2001). In an attempt to study the mechanism of this protection, we measured the reaction kinetics of photoinhibition in lincomycin-treated pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) and pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) leaves in vivo. The light-saturated rate of PSII oxygen evolution, assayed from thylakoids and isolated from the treated leaves, was used as a direct measure of the number of remaining active PSII centres, and the fluorescence parameters F (V)/F (M) and (F (V)/F (M))/F (0) (=1/F (0) - 1/F (M)) were measured for comparison. To our surprise, no stabilization of PSII activity was observed and photoinhibition followed first-order kinetics until PSII activity had virtually declined to zero. A series of in vitro experiments was carried out to see whether stabilization of PSII activity occurs if a particular combination of light intensity and wavelength range is applied, or if a specific PSII preparation is used as experimental material. The results of the in vitro experiments confirmed the in vivo result about persistent first-order kinetics. We conclude that photoinhibited PSII centres offer no measurable protection against photoinhibition.
authors.affiliation: Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sarvikas
authors.forename: Taina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tyystjärvi
authors.forename: Esa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tyystjärvi
mesh_terms: D002212:Capsicum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D028464:Cucurbita / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D008034:Lincomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D020524:Thylakoids / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D002734:Chlorophyll; D008034:Lincomycin; D010100:Oxygen; D000077194:Chlorophyll A