Zeaxanthin, a Molecule for Photoprotection in Many Different Environments
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0334, USA
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Academic Editor: Leszek Fiedor
Molecules 2020, 25(24), 5825; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25245825
Received: 18 November 2020
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Revised: 3 December 2020
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Accepted: 7 December 2020
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Published: 10 December 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chlorophylls & Carotenoids: Colourful Molecules for Solar Energy Conversion, Photoprotection and Health)
Conversion of sunlight into photochemistry depends on photoprotective processes that allow safe use of sunlight over a broad range of environmental conditions. This review focuses on the ubiquity of photoprotection associated with a group of interconvertible leaf carotenoids, the xanthophyll cycle. We survey the striking plasticity of this process observed in nature with respect to (1) xanthophyll cycle pool size, (2) degree and speed of interconversion of its components, and (3) flexibility in the association between xanthophyll cycle conversion state and photoprotective dissipation of excess excitation energy. It is concluded that the components of this system can be independently tuned with a high degree of flexibility to produce a fit for different environments with various combinations of light, temperature, and other factors. In addition, the role of genetic variation is apparent from variation in the response of different species growing side-by-side in the same environment. These findings illustrate how field studies can generate insight into the adjustable levers that allow xanthophyll cycle-associated photoprotection to support plant photosynthetic productivity and survival in environments with unique combinations of environmental factors.
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Keywords:
carotenoid; chlorophyll fluorescence; energy dissipation; lutein; human nutrition; lutein; non-photochemical quenching; photoprotection; violaxanthin; xanthophyll cycle
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MDPI and ACS Style
Demmig-Adams, B.; Stewart, J.J.; López-Pozo, M.; Polutchko, S.K.; Adams, W.W., III. Zeaxanthin, a Molecule for Photoprotection in Many Different Environments. Molecules 2020, 25, 5825. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25245825
AMA Style
Demmig-Adams B, Stewart JJ, López-Pozo M, Polutchko SK, Adams WW III. Zeaxanthin, a Molecule for Photoprotection in Many Different Environments. Molecules. 2020; 25(24):5825. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25245825
Chicago/Turabian StyleDemmig-Adams, Barbara, Jared J. Stewart, Marina López-Pozo, Stephanie K. Polutchko, and William W. Adams III. 2020. "Zeaxanthin, a Molecule for Photoprotection in Many Different Environments" Molecules 25, no. 24: 5825. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25245825
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