Search Results (14)

The implementation of immersion heaters in hydroponic strawberry systems offers substantial potential for reducing glasshouse operational costs. This 115-day study investigated the effects of nutrient solution temperature on strawberry physiological and biochemical parameters. Temperature significantly influenced anthocyanin accumulation, with a maximum increase (135.49%) at 20 °C. Total chlorophyll content and photosystem II efficiency (Fv/Fm) exhibited temperature-dependent variations, while the 20 °C treatment served as the optimal baseline. Plants maintained at 20 °C demonstrated superior growth performance, achieving 64.79% higher fresh shoot weight and 50.29% greater total dry biomass compared to controls. Fruit quality parameters remained largely temperature-independent, except at 15 °C, which produced fruits with elevated sugar content but reduced acidity and dimensions. Conversely, the 20 °C treatment yielded the maximum fruit weight. Photosynthetic rates peaked during the experimental period, with plants at 20 °C exhibiting optimal recovery capacity. Both transpiration and stomatal conductance displayed treatment-specific patterns, with 20 °C maintaining superior physiological responses despite stress periods. These findings establish that maintaining nutrient solution temperature at 20 °C optimizes strawberry physiology, growth, and fruit quality, validating temperature regulation as an effective practice for hydroponic strawberry production systems. Full article

Experimental manipulations of the balance between leaves as source organs and reproductive structures as sink organs have contributed greatly to our understanding of the assimilate partitioning and regulation of leaf photosynthesis. In order to add cycads to this research agenda, the full range in natural variation in leaf:seed ratio and incident light level of in situ Cycas micronesica was augmented with the experimental manipulation of leaf:seed ratios of C. micronesica and Cycas edentata in Guam and the Philippines. In every study, individual seed size and concentrations of megagametophyte carbon, starch, and sugars were not influenced by leaf:seed ratio. The leaf net photosynthesis (Pn) and operational efficiency of photosystem II were also quantified for the in situ studies, and leaf:seed ratio did not influence these leaf physiology traits. The natural variation in incident light revealed increased net Pn for C. micronesica trees receiving greater levels of light, but the sink traits of seeds were not influenced by these differences in source strength. The findings indicated that the size and sink activity of individual cycad seeds are constitutive traits that are not influenced by the relative balance between leaf source and seed sink size at the individual plant level. The results also reveal that upregulation or downregulation of cycad leaf Pn is not influenced by sink size or source:sink ratio. The massive amounts of nonstructural carbohydrates in cycad stems and roots may explain these findings, as these organs may be the primary source for strobilus and seed growth independently from leaf Pn. Full article

Salt-sensitive trees in coastal wetlands are dying as forests transition to marsh and open water at a rapid pace. Forested wetlands are experiencing repeated saltwater exposure due to the frequency and severity of climatic events, sea-level rise, and human infrastructure expansion. Understanding the diverse responses of trees to saltwater exposure can help identify taxa that may provide early warning signals of salinity stress in forests at broader scales. To isolate the impacts of saltwater exposure on trees, we performed an experiment to investigate the leaf-level physiology of six tree species when exposed to oligohaline and mesohaline treatments. We found that species exposed to 3–6 parts per thousand (ppt) salinity had idiosyncratic responses of plant performance that were species-specific. Saltwater exposure impacted leaf photochemistry and caused early senescence in Acer rubrum, the most salt-sensitive species tested, but did not cause any impacts on plant water use in treatments with <6 ppt. Interestingly, leaf spectral reflectance was correlated with the operating efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry in A. rubrum leaves before leaf physiological processes were impacted by salinity treatments. Our results suggest that the timing and frequency of saltwater intrusion events are likely to be more detrimental to wetland tree performance than salinity concentrations. Full article

Grapevine leaves contain abundant CaO_x crystals located either within the mesophyll in the form of raphides, or in the bundle sheaths as druses. CaO_x crystals function as internal carbon pools providing CO₂ for a baseline level of photosynthesis, named “alarm photosynthesis”, despite closed stomata; thus, preventing the photoinhibition and the oxidative risk due to carbon starvation under adverse conditions. Structural and functional leaf traits of acclimated grapevine plants (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Assyrtiko) were investigated in response to water availability, in order to evaluate the dynamic functionality of CaO_x. Leaf water potential, leaf area, leaf mass per area, stomatal properties, gas exchange parameters and performance index (PI) were decreased in leaves of vines acclimated to water deficit in comparison to the leaves of well-irrigated vines, although the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters showed that the operational efficiency of the photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry (F_v/F_m) did not change, indicating that the photosynthetic apparatus was not subjected to water stress. During the afternoon, more than half of the morning’s existing druses disappeared in the drought-acclimated leaves. Also, the raphides’ area of the drought-acclimated leaves was reduced more than that of the well-watered leaves. The substantial decomposition of druses under water deficit conditions compared to that of the raphides may have important implications for the maintenance of their different though overlapping roles. According to the results, it seems likely that, under water deficit conditions, a mechanism of “alarm photosynthesis” provides an additional tolerance trait in the leaves of Vitis vinifera cv. Assyrtiko; hence, leaf structure relates to function. Full article

Vegetatively propagating aquatic angiosperms, the Lemnaceae family (duckweeds) represents valuable genetic resources for circular bioeconomics and other sustainable applications. Due to extremely fast growth and laborious cultivation of in vitro collections, duckweeds are an urgent subject for cryopreservation. We developed a robust and fast DMSO-free protocol for duckweed cryopreservation by vitrification. A single-use device was designed for sampling of duckweed fronds from donor culture, further spin-drying, and subsequent transferring to cryo-tubes with plant vitrification solution 3 (PVS3). Following cultivation in darkness and applying elevated temperatures during early regrowth stage, a specific pulsed illumination instead of a diurnal regime enabled successful regrowth after the cryopreservation of 21 accessions of Spirodela, Landoltia, Lemna, and Wolffia genera, including interspecific hybrids, auto- and allopolyploids. Genome size measurements revealed no quantitative genomic changes potentially caused by cryopreservation. The expression of CBF/DREB1 genes, considered as key factors in the development of freezing tolerance, was studied prior to cooling but was not linked with duckweed regrowth after rewarming. Despite preserving chlorophyll fluorescence after rewarming, the rewarmed fronds demonstrated nearly zero photosynthetic activity, which did not recover. The novel protocol provides the basis for future routine application of cryostorage to duckweed germplasm collections, saving labor for in vitro cultivation and maintaining characterized reference and mutant samples. Full article

Metal micronutrients are essential for plant nutrition, but their toxicity threshold is low. In-depth studies on the response of light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis to metal micronutrients are needed, and the analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence transients is a suitable technique. The liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L., a model organism also used in biomonitoring, allowed us to accurately study the effects of metal micronutrients in vivo, particularly the early responses. Gametophytes were treated with copper (Cu), iron (Fe) or zinc (Zn) for up to 120 h. Copper showed the strongest effects, negatively affecting almost the entire light phase of photosynthesis. Iron was detrimental to the flux of energy around photosystem II (PSII), while the acceptor side of PSI was unaltered. The impact of Fe was milder than that of Cu and in both cases the structures of the photosynthetic apparatus that resisted the treatments were still able to operate efficiently. The susceptibility of M. polymorpha to Zn was low: although the metal affected a large part of the electron transport chain, its effects were modest and short-lived. Our results may provide a contribution towards achieving a more comprehensive understanding of response mechanisms to metals and their evolution in plants, and may be useful for supporting the development of biomonitoring techniques. Full article

A portable and sensitive time-resolved biosensor for capturing very low intensity light emission is a promising avenue to study plant delayed fluorescence. These weak emissions provide insight on plant health and can be useful in plant science as well as in the development of accurate feedback indicators for plant growth and yield in applications of agricultural crop cultivation. A field-based delayed fluorescence device is also desirable to enable monitoring of plant stress response to climate change. Among basic techniques for the detection of rapidly fluctuating low intensity light is photon counting. Despite its vast utility, photon counting techniques often relying on photomultiplier tube (PMT) technology, having restricted use in agricultural and environment measurements of plant stress outside of the laboratory setting, mainly due to the prohibitive cost of the equipment, high voltage nature, and the complexity of its operation. However, recent development of the new generation solid-state silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) single photon avalanche diode array has enabled the availability of high quantum efficiency, easy-to-operate, compact, photon counting systems which are not constrained to sophisticated laboratories, and are accessible owing to their low-cost. In this contribution, we have conceived, fabricated and validated a novel SiPM-based photon counting device with integrated plug-and-play excitation LED, all housed inside a miniaturized sample chamber to record weak delayed fluorescence lifetime response from plant leaves subjected to varying temperature condition and drought stress. Findings from our device show that delayed fluorescence reports on the inactivation to the plant’s photosystem II function in response to unfavorable acute environmental heat and cold shock stress as well as chronic water deprivation. Results from our proof-of-concept miniaturized prototype demonstrate a new, simple and effective photon counting instrument is achieved, one which can be deployed in-field to rapidly and minimally invasively assess plant physiological growth and health based on rapid, ultra-weak delayed fluorescence measurements directly from a plant leaf. Full article

Exposure of Salvia sclarea plants to excess Zn for 8 days resulted in increased Ca, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations, but decreased Mg, in the aboveground tissues. The significant increase in the aboveground tissues of Mn, which is vital in the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII), contributed to the higher efficiency of the OEC, and together with the increased Fe, which has a fundamental role as a component of the enzymes involved in the electron transport process, resulted in an increased electron transport rate (ETR). The decreased Mg content in the aboveground tissues contributed to decreased chlorophyll content that reduced excess absorption of sunlight and operated to improve PSII photochemistry (Φ_PSII), decreasing excess energy at PSII and lowering the degree of photoinhibition, as judged from the increased maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm). The molecular mechanism by which Zn-treated leaves displayed an improved PSII photochemistry was the increased fraction of open PSII reaction centers (qp) and, mainly, the increased efficiency of the reaction centers (Fv′/Fm′) that enhanced ETR. Elemental bioimaging of Zn and Ca by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) revealed their co-localization in the mid-leaf veins. The high Zn concentration was located in the mid-leaf-vein area, while mesophyll cells accumulated small amounts of Zn, thus resembling a spatiotemporal heterogenous response and suggesting an adaptive strategy. These findings contribute to our understanding of how exposure to excess Zn triggered a hormetic response of PSII photochemistry. Exposure of aromatic and medicinal plants to excess Zn in hydroponics can be regarded as an economical approach to ameliorate the deficiency of Fe and Zn, which are essential micronutrients for human health. Full article

Salt stress affects plant growth and productivity. In this study we determined the roles of eight genes involved in photosynthesis, using gene co-expression network analysis, under salt-stress conditions using Arabidopsis knockout mutants. The green area of the leaves was minimum in the at1g65230 mutant line. Rice LOC_Os01g68450, a homolog of at1g65230, was ectopically expressed in the at1g65230 mutant line to generate revertant lines. Under salt stress, the revertant lines exhibited significantly higher net photosynthesis rates than the at1g65230 mutant line. Moreover, the operating efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) and electron transport rate of the revertant lines were higher than those of the wild type and at1g65230 mutant line after 10 days of exposure to salt stress. After this period, the protein PsbD–the component of PSII–decreased in all lines tested without significant difference among them. However, the chlorophyll a and b, carotenoid, and anthocyanin contents of revertant lines were higher than those of the mutant line. Furthermore, lower maximum chlorophyll fluorescence was detected in the revertant lines. This suggests that LOC_Os01g68450 expression contributed to the salt tolerance phenotype by modifying the energy dissipation process and led to the ability to maintain photosynthesis under salt stress conditions. Full article

Different strategies are reported in the literature for energy saving in Closed Plant Production Systems (CPPS). However, not reliable evidences about energy consumption with the use of pulsed LED light technique in lighting system available in Plant Factory and Vertical Farm. In this work, three key points to determine the effects of pulsed LED light versus continuous LED light are presented: (1) A mathematical model and its practical application for stabilizing the energy equivalence using LED light in continuous and pulsed mode in different light treatments. (2) The quantum efficiency of the photosystem II was used to determine positive and/or negative effects of the light operating mode (continuous or pulsed) on chili pepper plants (Capsicum annuum var. Serrano). (3) Evaluation of energy consumption with both operation modes using ten recipes from the literature to grow plants applied in Closed Plant Production Systems, different Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density at 50, 110, and 180 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹, Frequencies at 100, 500, and 1000 Hz, and Duty Cycles of 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90%. The results show no significant statistical differences between the operation modes (continuous and pulsed LED light). For each light recipe analyzed, a pulsed frequency and a duty cycle were obtained, achieving significant energy savings in every light intensity. The results can be useful guide for real-life applications in CPPS. Full article

It has been demonstrated that solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is linearly related to the primary production of photosynthesis (GPP) in various ecosystems. However, it is unknown whether such linear relationships have been established in senescent crops. SIF and GPP can be expressed as the products of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) with the SIF yield and photosystem II (PSII) operating efficiency, respectively. Thus, the relationship between SIF and GPP can be represented by the relationship between the SIF yield and PSII operating efficiency when the APAR has the same value. Therefore, we analyzed the relationship between the SIF yield and the PSII operating efficiency to address the abovementioned question. Here, diurnal measurements of the canopy SIF (760 nm, F760) of soybean and sweet potato were manually measured and used to calculate the SIF yield. The PSII operating efficiency was calculated from measurements of the chlorophyll fluorescence at the leaf level using the FluorImager chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system. Meanwhile, field measurements of the gas exchange and other physiological parameters were also performed using commercial-grade devices. The results showed that the SIF yield was not linearly related to the PSII operating efficiency at the diurnal scale, reflecting the nonlinear relationship between SIF and GPP. This nonlinear relationship mainly resulted from the heterogeneity and diurnal dynamics of the PSII operating efficiency and from the intrinsic diurnal changes in the maximum efficiency of the PSII photochemistry and the proportion of opened PSII centers. Intensifying respiration was another factor that complicated the response of photosynthesis to the variation in environmental conditions and negatively impacted the relationship between the SIF yield and the PSII operating efficiency. The nonlinear relationship between the SIF yield and PSII efficiency might yield errors in the estimation of GPP using the SIF measurements of senescent crops. Full article

The capacity of photoautotrophs to fix carbon depends on the efficiency of the conversion of light energy into chemical potential by photosynthesis. In nature, light input into photosynthesis can change very rapidly and dramatically. To analyze how genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana affects photosynthesis and growth under dynamic light conditions, 36 randomly chosen natural accessions were grown under uniform and fluctuating light intensities. After 14 days of growth under uniform or fluctuating light regimes, maximum photosystem II quantum efficiency (F_v/F_m) was determined, photosystem II operating efficiency (Φ_PSII) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were measured in low light, and projected leaf area (PLA) as well as the number of visible leaves were estimated. Our data show that Φ_PSII and PLA were decreased and NPQ was increased, while F_v/F_m and number of visible leaves were unaffected, in most accessions grown under fluctuating compared to uniform light. There were large changes between accessions for most of these parameters, which, however, were not correlated with genomic variation. Fast growing accessions under uniform light showed the largest growth reductions under fluctuating light, which correlated strongly with a reduction in Φ_PSII, suggesting that, under fluctuating light, photosynthesis controls growth and not vice versa. Full article

Sun-induced Fluorescence (SIF) and Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI) data were collected in the field over maize to study their diurnal responses to different water stresses at the canopy scale. An automated field spectroscopy system was used to obtain continuous and long-term measurements of maize canopy in four field plots with different irrigation treatments. This system collects visible to near-infrared spectra with a spectrometer, which provides a sub-nanometer spectral resolution in the spectral range of 480~850 nm. The red SIF (F_R) and far red SIF (F_FR) data were retrieved by Spectral Fitting Methods (SFM) in the $O_2$ -A band and $O_2$ -B band, respectively. In addition to PRI, $\Delta \mathrm{PRI}$ values were derived from PRI by subtracting an early morning PRI value. Photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) data, the canopy fraction of absorbed PAR (fPAR), and the air/canopy temperature and photosystem II operating efficiency (YII) at the leaf scale were collected concurrently. In this paper, the diurnal dynamics of each parameter before and after watering at the jointing stage were compared. The results showed that (i) both F_R and F_FR decreased under water stress, but F_R always peaked at noon, and the peak of F_FR advanced with the increase in stress. Leaf folding and the increase in Non-photochemical Quenching (NPQ) are the main reasons for this trend. Leaf YII gradually decreased from 8:00 to 14:00 and then recovered. In drought, leaf YII was smaller and decreased more rapidly. Therefore, the fluorescence yield at both the leaf and canopy scale responded to water stress. (ii) As good indicators of changes in NPQ, diurnal PRI and $\Delta \mathrm{PRI}$ data also showed specific decreases due to water stress. $\Delta \mathrm{PRI}$ can eliminate the impact of canopy structure. Under water stress, $\Delta \mathrm{PRI}$ decreased rapidly from 8:00 to 13:00, and the maximum range of this decrease was approximately 0.05. After 13:00, their values started to increase but could not recover to their morning level. (iii) Higher canopy-air temperature differences ( $\Delta \mathrm{T}$ ) indicate that stomatal closure leads to an increase in leaf temperature, which maintains a higher state in the afternoon. In summary, to cope with water stress, both leaf folding and changes in physiology are activated. To monitor drought, SIF performs best around midday, and PRI is better after noon. Full article

Photosynthetic organisms are able to sense energy imbalances brought about by the overexcitation of photosystem II (PSII) through the redox state of the photosynthetic electron transport chain, estimated as the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter 1-q_L, also known as PSII excitation pressure. Plants employ a wide array of photoprotective processes that modulate photosynthesis to correct these energy imbalances. Low temperature and light are well established in their ability to modulate PSII excitation pressure. The acquisition of freezing tolerance requires growth and development a low temperature (cold acclimation) which predisposes the plant to photoinhibition. Thus, photosynthetic acclimation is essential for proper energy balancing during the cold acclimation process. Eutrema salsugineum (Thellungiella salsuginea) is an extremophile, a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana, but possessing much higher constitutive levels of tolerance to abiotic stress. This comparative study aimed to characterize the photosynthetic properties of Arabidopsis (Columbia accession) and two accessions of Eutrema (Yukon and Shandong) isolated from contrasting geographical locations at cold acclimating and non-acclimating conditions. In addition, three different growth regimes were utilized that varied in temperature, photoperiod and irradiance which resulted in different levels of PSII excitation pressure. This study has shown that these accessions interact differentially to instantaneous (measuring) and long-term (acclimation) changes in PSII excitation pressure with regard to their photosynthetic behaviour. Eutrema accessions contained a higher amount of photosynthetic pigments, showed higher oxidation of P700 and possessed more resilient photoprotective mechanisms than that of Arabidopsis, perhaps through the prevention of PSI acceptor-limitation. Upon comparison of the two Eutrema accessions, Shandong demonstrated the greatest PSII operating efficiency (Φ_PSII) and P700 oxidizing capacity, while Yukon showed greater growth plasticity to irradiance. Both of these Eutrema accessions are able to photosynthetically acclimate but do so by different mechanisms. The Shandong accessions demonstrate a stable response, favouring energy partitioning to photochemistry while the Yukon accession shows a more rapid response with partitioning to other (non-photochemical) strategies. Full article