A fast oxygen uptake, induced by a sequence of short (5 /usee) saturating flashes was observed in chloroplasts of wild type tobacco and two chlorophyll-deficient tobacco mutants. One of the chlorophyll mutants is the earlier described variegated tobacco NC 95. Chloroplasts of this mutant exhibit only photosystem I mediated photoreactions, hence the observed oxygen uptake is to be associated wit...

Fluorescence emission spectral peaks at 685, 695 and 730 nanometers (F685, F695, and F730) were recorded 77 K from diluted leaf tissue and epidermal powders prepared from Saxifraga cernua. The time course for state 1 to state 2 transitions was monitored as changes in the ratios of the three emission peaks. During illumination with light 2 (580 nm) the F730/F695 and F730/F685 ratios increased wi...

Host animals in algal-invertebrate endosymbiotic associations are exposed to photosynthetically generated hyperoxia while in sunlight, conditions conducive to photodynamic excitations and production of cytotoxic oxygen-derived radicals such as the superoxide anion (O2 ) and the hydroxyl radical ('OH). All previous evidence of oxyradical production in symbiotic associations has been circumstanti...

Methyl viologen and phenazine methosulfate (photosystem I electron acceptors), 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1, 1-dimethylurea (DCMU, electron-transport inhibitor), and methylamine (photophosphorylation uncoupler) were used to study the dependence of nitrite reduction on electron transport in chloroplasts.DCMU, methyl viologen, and phenazine methosulfate markedly inhibited, whereas methylamine stimula...

The xanthophyll cycle (Xc), which involves violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) and the zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP), is one of the most rapid and efficient responses of plant and algae to high irradiance. High light intensity can activate VDE to convert violaxanthin (Vx) to zeaxanthin (Zx) via antheraxanthin (Ax). However, it remains unclear whether VDE remains active under low light or dark conditio...

At low light intensities (less than 50 /anol m 2 s ') illumination evokes transient depolarization of membrane potential in mesophyll cells of the leaf-trap of Dionaea muscipula Ellis. Darkening causes hyperpolarization approximately symmetric to the response to illumination. The amplitude as well as the rate of potential changes depend on light intensity. After exceeding a definite threshold (...

Yamashita and Butler [I] have shown that extraction of chloroplasts with a high concentration of Tris (0.8 M, pH 8.0) eliminates flow of electrons from water to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+)* or other Hill oxidants. They suggest that washing with Tris causes a block on the water side of the electron transport chain. Addition of electron donors such as reduced phenylene dia...

Chloroplasts have been reported to generate retrograde immune signals that activate defense gene expression in the nucleus. However, the roles of light and photosynthesis in plant immunity remain largely elusive. In this study, we evaluated the effects of light on the expression of defense genes induced by flg22, a peptide derived from bacterial flagellins which acts as a potent elicitor in pla...

PSII activity was inhibited after Spirulina platensis cells were incubated with different salt concentrations (0-0.8 M NaCl) for 12 h. Flash-induced fluorescence kinetics showed that in the absence of DCMU, the half time of the fast and slow components decreased while that of the middle component increased considerably with increasing salt concentration. In the presence of DCMU, fluorescence re...

Under sulfur deprivation conditions, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii produces hydrogen in the light in a sustainable manner thanks to the contribution of two pathways, direct and indirect. In the direct pathway, photosystem II (PSII) supplies electrons to hydrogenase through the photosynthetic electron transport chain, while in the indirect pathway, hydrogen is produced in the absence ...