Loss of the precise control of photosynthesis and increased yield of non-radiative dissipation of excitation energy after mild heat treatment of barley leaves

The aftereffects of a short exposure of intact barley leaves to moderately elevated temperature (40°C, 5 min) on the induction transients and the irradiance dependencies of photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence are presented. This mild heat treatment strongly reduced the oscillations in the rate of photosynthesis and in the yield of chlorophyll fluorescence. However, only a 25%, irreversible inhibition of maximum photosynthetic capacity of photosystem II (PSII) measured by oxygen evolution was produced and the intrinsic quantum yield of PSII measured by the chlorophyll fluorescence ratio (F m - F o )/F m decreased by only 15%. In contrast, the above treatment increased radiationless dissipation processes in PSII by a factor of two. In heat-treated leaves. photosynthesis was not saturated even by strong light. Both ΔpH-dependent quenching of excitons in PSII (including formation of zeaxanthin) and state 1/state 2 transition were found to be stimulated. Heat exposure enhanced the control of PSII activity by PSI, as evidenced by a significant increase in the quenching effect of far-red light on the maximum yield of chlorophyll fluorescence. It was deduced that after mild heat treatment, the photosynthetic apparatus in leaves lacks the precise coordinating control of electron transport and carbon metabolism owing to the inability of PSII to support electron transport at a level adequate for carbon metabolism. This effect was not related to the small irreversible thermal damage to PSII, but was rather due to a significant increase in non-photochemical quenching of excitation energy.