Studies on the Mechanism of Copper Toxicity inChlorella

Weed Science ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 443-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Cedeno-Maldonado ◽  
J. A. Swader
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transport ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Copper Toxicity ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Autotrophic Growth ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Cupric Ion ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Photosynthesis And Respiration

Autotrophic growth, photosynthesis, and respiration ofChlorella sorokinianaShihira and Krauss were inhibited by the cupric ion, but photosynthesis was more sensitive than respiration. The percent inhibition was determined by the ratio of cells to cupric ions present. Photosynthesis and respiration were inhibited within 2 and 5 min, respectively, after adding 1.0 mM cupric ions.Chlorellacells which had been incubated for a short time in concentrations of the cupric ion that completely inhibited photosynthesis were not able to grow when cultured in a fresh medium without cupric ions, indicating high concentrations of the ion may have destroyed the photosynthetic apparatus and deprived the cells of their ability for autotrophic growth. Dark preincubation of the cells, as well as high bicarbonate concentrations in the assay medium, decreased inhibition. Treatment with cupric ions reduced the cellular chlorophyll and sulfhydryl content, but anaerobiosis, a condition that increased toxicity, had little effect on the sulfhydryl content. Electron transport in photosystems I and II in intactChlorellacells was inhibited, but the specific sites of inhibition in the photosynthetic electron transport chain could not be determined using intact cells.

scholarly journals Flavodiiron proteins act as safety valve for electrons in Physcomitrella patens

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (43) ◽  
pp. 12322-12327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Gerotto ◽  
Alessandro Alboresi ◽  
Andrea Meneghesso ◽  
Martina Jokel ◽  
Marjaana Suorsa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transport ◽  
Photosystem I ◽  
Physcomitrella Patens ◽  
Safety Valve ◽  
Cell Metabolism ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Electron Sink

Photosynthetic organisms support cell metabolism by harvesting sunlight to fuel the photosynthetic electron transport. The flow of excitation energy and electrons in the photosynthetic apparatus needs to be continuously modulated to respond to dynamics of environmental conditions, and Flavodiiron (FLV) proteins are seminal components of this regulatory machinery in cyanobacteria. FLVs were lost during evolution by flowering plants, but are still present in nonvascular plants such as Physcomitrella patens. We generated P. patens mutants depleted in FLV proteins, showing their function as an electron sink downstream of photosystem I for the first seconds after a change in light intensity. flv knock-out plants showed impaired growth and photosystem I photoinhibition when exposed to fluctuating light, demonstrating FLV’s biological role as a safety valve from excess electrons on illumination changes. The lack of FLVs was partially compensated for by an increased cyclic electron transport, suggesting that in flowering plants, the FLV’s role was taken by other alternative electron routes.

scholarly journals Photosynthesis Regulation in Response to Fluctuating Light in the Secondary Endosymbiont Alga Nannochloropsis gaditana

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Bellan ◽  
Francesca Bucci ◽  
Giorgio Perin ◽  
Alessandro Alboresi ◽  
Tomas Morosinotto
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transport ◽  
Electron Flow ◽  
Incident Light ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Thermal Dissipation ◽  
Photochemical Quenching ◽  
Nannochloropsis Gaditana ◽  
Fluctuating Light ◽  
Light Fluctuations

Abstract In nature, photosynthetic organisms are exposed to highly dynamic environmental conditions where the excitation energy and electron flow in the photosynthetic apparatus need to be continuously modulated. Fluctuations in incident light are particularly challenging because they drive oversaturation of photosynthesis with consequent oxidative stress and photoinhibition. Plants and algae have evolved several mechanisms to modulate their photosynthetic machinery to cope with light dynamics, such as thermal dissipation of excited chlorophyll states (non-photochemical quenching, NPQ) and regulation of electron transport. The regulatory mechanisms involved in the response to light dynamics have adapted during evolution, and exploring biodiversity is a valuable strategy for expanding our understanding of their biological roles. In this work, we investigated the response to fluctuating light in Nannochloropsis gaditana, a eukaryotic microalga of the phylum Heterokonta originating from a secondary endosymbiotic event. Nannochloropsis gaditana is negatively affected by light fluctuations, leading to large reductions in growth and photosynthetic electron transport. Exposure to light fluctuations specifically damages photosystem I, likely because of the ineffective regulation of electron transport in this species. The role of NPQ, also assessed using a mutant strain specifically depleted of this response, was instead found to be minor, especially in responding to the fastest light fluctuations.

In vitro selection of microspores for resistance to oxidative stress resulted in chilling tolerance in doubled haploid maize lines

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-216
Author(s):  
Eva Darkó ◽  
H. Ambrus ◽  
A. Szenzenstein ◽  
B. Barnabás
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Electron Transport ◽  
Antioxidant Capacity ◽  
Doubled Haploid ◽  
Chilling Stress ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Chilling Tolerance ◽  
Chlorophyll Breakdown ◽  
Induced Changes

The chilling tolerance of doubled haploid (DH) maize plants selected and regenerated from microspores exposed to prooxidants, paraquat or tert-butyl hydroperoxide was determined by monitoring cold-induced changes in the photosynthetic electron transport, CO2 assimilation processes and chlorophyll breakdown in young leaves after cold treatment (8°C for 5 days). The results were compared to those of the non-selected DH line and the original hybrid plants. Chilling stress caused a great reduction in the Fv/Fm, qP and ΔF/Fm’ fluorescence parameters, related to the photosynthetic electron transport processes, and in carbon assimilation, and resulted in chlorophyll breakdown. These changes were less extensive in the selected DH plants, which showed elevated antioxidant capacity both at ambient and at low temperature. Among the antioxidant enzymes tested, the activity of GR and GST was induced by chilling stress to the greatest extent. Correlations between cold-induced changes in the photosynthetic apparatus and the antioxidant capacity of the plants suggested that the better protection against oxidative stress induced by the elevated antioxidant capacity of the plants contributed to protecting the photosynthetic apparatus from cold.

scholarly journals The effects of high concentrations of salts on photosynthetic electron transport in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) chloroplasts

1982 ◽  
Vol 204 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
A C Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transport ◽  
Photosystem Ii ◽  
Photosystem I ◽  
Spinacia Oleracea ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Potassium Citrate ◽  
O2 Evolution ◽  
Hofmeister Series ◽  
Reaction Centre ◽  
High Concentrations

1. Photosynthetic electron transport from water to lipophilic Photosystem II acceptors was stimulated 3-5-fold by high concentrations (greater than or equal to 1 M) of salts containing anions such as citrate, succinate and phosphate that are high in the Hofmeister series. 2. In trypsin-treated chloroplasts, K3Fe(CN)6 reduction insensitive to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea was strongly stimulated by high concentrations of potassium citrate, but there was much less stimulation of 2,6-dichloroindophenol reduction in Tris-treated chloroplasts supplied with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide as artificial donor. The results suggest that the main site of action of citrate was the O2-evolving complex of Photosystem II. 3. Photosystem I partial reactions were also stimulated by intermediate concentrations of citrate (up to 2-fold stimulation by 0.6-0.8 M-citrate), but were inhibited at the highest concentrations. The observed stimulation may have been caused by stabilizaton of plastocyanin that was complexed with the Photosystem I reaction centre, 4. At 1 M, potassium citrate protected O2 evolution against denaturation by heat or by the chaotropic agent NaNO3. 5. It is suggested that anions high in the Hofmeister series stimulated and stabilized electron transport by enhancing water structure around the protein complexes in the thylakoid membrane.

On the Mechanism of Benzoquinone Penetration and Photoreduction by Whole Cells

1971 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Gimmler ◽  
M. Avron
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transport ◽  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Electron Acceptors ◽  
Electron Donors ◽  
Porphyridium Cruentum ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Time Treatment ◽  
Short Time

Short time treatment of intact Porphyridium cruentum cells with benzoquinone results in changes of the cell membranes, which lead to a higher permeability. This increased permeability allows the measurements of photosynthetic electron transport reactions with various electron donors, ac. ceptors and mediators, which cannot enter untreated cells. The capacity of benzoquinone to act as a Hill - reagent in vivo is interpreted as due to a double action of this compound: changing the permeability of the cells by reacting with the cell membrane coupled with the ability of the unreacted molecules to serve as electron acceptors.

scholarly journals The Cupric Ion as an Inhibitor of Photosynthetic Electron Transport in Isolated Chloroplasts

1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 698-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Cedeno-Maldonado ◽  
J. A. Swader ◽  
Robert L. Heath
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transport ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
Cupric Ion ◽  
Isolated Chloroplasts

scholarly journals Photosynthetic signalling during high light stress and recovery: targets and dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1801) ◽  
pp. 20190406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Gollan ◽  
Eva-Mari Aro
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Electron Transport ◽  
Redox Homeostasis ◽  
Light Stress ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽  
High Light ◽  
Abiotic Stress Response ◽  
High Light Stress ◽  
Retrograde Signalling

The photosynthetic apparatus is one of the major primary sensors of the plant's external environment. Changes in environmental conditions affect the balance between harvested light energy and the capacity to deal with excited electrons in the stroma, which alters the redox homeostasis of the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Disturbances to redox balance activate photosynthetic regulation mechanisms and trigger signalling cascades that can modify the transcription of nuclear genes. H 2 O 2 and oxylipins have been identified as especially prominent regulators of gene expression in response to excess light stress. This paper explores the hypothesis that photosynthetic imbalance triggers specific signals that target discrete gene profiles and biological processes. Analysis of the major retrograde signalling pathways engaged during high light stress and recovery demonstrates both specificity and overlap in gene targets. This work reveals distinct, time-resolved profiles of gene expression that suggest a regulatory interaction between rapidly activated abiotic stress response and induction of secondary metabolism and detoxification processes during recovery. The findings of this study show that photosynthetic electron transport provides a finely tuned sensor for detecting and responding to the environment through chloroplast retrograde signalling. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Retrograde signalling from endosymbiotic organelles’

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