title: Photoinhibition-like damage to the photosynthetic apparatus in plant leaves induced by submergence treatment in the dark.
abstract: Submergence is a common type of environmental stress for plants. It hampers survival and decreases crop yield, mainly by inhibiting plant photosynthesis. The inhibition of photosynthesis and photochemical efficiency by submergence is primarily due to leaf senescence and excess excitation energy, caused by signals from hypoxic roots and inhibition of gas exchange, respectively. However, the influence of mere leaf-submergence on the photosynthetic apparatus is currently unknown. Therefore, we studied the photosynthetic apparatus in detached leaves from four plant species under dark-submergence treatment (DST), without influence from roots and light. Results showed that the donor and acceptor sides, the reaction center of photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) in leaves were significantly damaged after 36 h of DST. This is a photoinhibition-like phenomenon similar to the photoinhibition induced by high light, as further indicated by the degradation of PsaA and D1, the core proteins of PSI and PSII. In contrast to previous research, the chlorophyll content remained unchanged and the H2O2 concentration did not increase in the leaves, implying that the damage to the photosynthetic apparatus was not caused by senescence or over-accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). DST-induced damage to the photosynthetic apparatus was aggravated by increasing treatment temperature. This type of damage also occurred in the anaerobic environment (N2) without water, and could be eliminated or restored by supplying air to the water during or after DST. Our results demonstrate that DST-induced damage was caused by the hypoxic environment. The mechanism by which DST induces the photoinhibition-like damage is discussed below.
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xingli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Zishan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Huiyuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Meijun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yuting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shanxi, China.
authors.forename: Pengmin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D003624:Darkness / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004579:Electron Transport; D029756:Euonymus / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D031421:Hemerocallis / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D008027:Light; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D032108:Salix / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D003313:Zea mays / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide