Characteristics of Mango Leaf Photosynthetic Inhibition by Enhanced UV-B Radiation

To investigate the photosynthetic change characteristics of mango leaves under enhanced UV-B radiation, adult ‘Tainong No. 1′ mango (Mangifera indica) trees were treated (N = nine individuals) with simulated enhanced UV-B radiation [24 and 96 kJ/(m2·d)] in the field, and the photochemical reactions, activities of key enzymes in carbon assimilation, and the expression of genes were observed. The results showed that compared with the control, there was a decrease in tree yield, soluble sugar, sugar–acid ratio, and vitamin C of the fruits under the 96 kJ/(m2·d) treatment, while no significant changes were observed under 24 kJ/(m2·d). After 20 or 40 days, the leaves’ net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Sc), transpiration rate (Tr), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), and chlorophyll a/b under exposure to 96 kJ/(m2·d) of UV-B were significantly lower than in the control, whereas chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, Hill reaction activity, photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), and Rubisco activities were significantly higher. In contrast, the Hill activity and Rubisco activity under 24 kJ/(m2·d) were significantly higher than the control, and increased by 350% and 30.8%, respectively, while Pn, Sc, Tr, Ci, and the content of photosynthetic pigments were similar to the control. The expression of gene coding the Rubisco big subunit (rbcL) was inhibited by the 96 kJ/(m2·d) treatment. We conclude that stomatal limitation was directly induced by 96 kJ/(m2·d), resulting in the inhibition of photosynthesis and the reduction in yield and deterioration of the quality of mango.

Characteristics of Mango Leaf Photosynthetic Inhibition by Enhanced UV-B Radiation

To investigate the photosynthetic change characteristics of mango leaves under enhanced UV-B radiation, adult ‘Tainong No. 1’ mango (Mangifera indica) trees were treated (N=nine individuals) with simulated enhanced UV-B radiation [24 and 96 kJ/(m2·d)] in the field, and the photochemical reactions, activities of key enzymes in carbon assimilation, and the expression of genes were observed. The results showed that compared with the control, there was a decrease in tree yield and nutritional flavor quality of the fruits under the 96 kJ/(m2·d) treatment, while no significant changes were observed under 24 kJ/(m2·d). After 20 or 40 days, leaves’ net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Sc), transpiration rate (Tr), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), and chlorophyll a/b under exposure to 96 kJ/(m2·d) of UV-B were significantly lower than in the control, whereas chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, Hill reaction activity, photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), and Rubisco activities were significantly higher. By contrast, the Hill activity and Rubisco activity under 24 kJ/(m2·d) were significantly higher than the control, while Pn, Sc, Tr, Ci, and the content of photosynthetic pigments were similar to the control. The expression of gene coding the Rubisco big subunit (rbcL) was inhibited by the 96 kJ/(m2·d) treatment. We conclude that stomatal limitation was directly induced by 96 kJ/(m2·d), resulting in the inhibition of photosynthesis and the reduction in yield and deterioration of the quality of mango.

Effect of Enhanced UV-B Radiation on Fruit Maturity and Quality, and Leaf Photosynthesis in ' Guifei ' Mango

(1) Background: Investigating the characteristics of photosynthetic physiological changes of leaves in Mangifera indica L. cv. 'GuIfei' under enhanced UV-B radiation, natural light exposed trees were regarded as control, and 96 kJ·m-2·d-1enhanced UV-B radiation was artificially simulated in the field; (2) Methods: The changes of fruit maturity and fruit quality, leaf net photosynthetic rate (Pn), photosynthetic pigments contents, photochemical reaction, activities of photosynthetic enzymes and their genes expressions were determined; (3) Results: Compared with CK, the percentage of mature fruits of the treatment was significantly increased, and fruit quality was better. The net photosynthetic rate (Pn), the contents of photosynthetic pigment, Hill reaction activity and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) of the treatment leaves showed a significantly higher trend than CK. The activities of Rubisco and RCA, and the expression of Rubisco genes rbcL and rbcS were significantly increased; (4) Conclusions: 96 kJ·m-2·d-1 enhanced UV-B radiation treatment improved Rubisco activity through increasing the expression of Rubisco genes rbcL and rbcS, thereby enhancing the CO2-fixing capacity and dark reaction capacity of leaves. Based on this, it raised the net photosynthetic rate of leaves, which promoted the early maturity of 'Guifei' mango by the fast accumulating photosynthetic products.

Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Improves Photosynthesis and Restores Alteration in Sugar Metabolism in Triticum aestivum L. Grown in Arsenic Contaminated Soil

Contamination of agricultural soil by arsenic (As) is a serious menace to environmental safety and global food security. Symbiotic plant–microbe interaction, such as arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), is a promising approach to minimize hazards of As contamination in agricultural soil. Even though the potential of AM fungi (AMF) in redeeming As tolerance and improving growth is well recognized, the detailed metabolic and physiological mechanisms behind such beneficial effects are far from being completely unraveled. The present study investigated the ability of an AM fungus, Rhizophagus intraradices, in mitigating As-mediated negative effects on photosynthesis and sugar metabolism in wheat (Triticum aestivum) subjected to three levels of As, viz., 0, 25, and 50 mg As kg–1 of soil, supplied as sodium arsenate. As exposure caused significant decrease in photosynthetic pigments, Hill reaction activity, and gas exchange parameters such as net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and intercellular CO2 concentration. In addition, As exposure also altered the activities of starch-hydrolyzing, sucrose-synthesizing, and sucrose-degrading enzymes in leaves. Colonization by R. intraradices not only promoted plant growth but also restored As-mediated impairments in plant physiology. The symbiosis augmented the concentration of photosynthetic pigments, enhanced Hill reaction activity, and improved leaf gas exchange parameters and water use efficiency of T. aestivum even at high dose of 50 mg As kg–1 of soil. Furthermore, inoculation with R. intraradices also restored As-mediated alteration in sugar metabolism by modulating the activities of starch phosphorylase, α-amylase, β-amylase, acid invertase, sucrose synthase, and sucrose-phosphate synthase in leaves. This ensured improved sugar and starch levels in mycorrhizal plants. Overall, the study advocates the potential of R. intraradices in bio-amelioration of As-induced physiological disturbances in wheat plant.

H2 and CH4 Productions from Bio-alcohols by Condensed Poly (Heptazine Imide) with Visible Light

Photocatalytic H2 production via water splitting holds great potential for the conversion of solar energy into renewable and storable chemical fuels in a sustainable manner, but this up-hill reaction is...

Analog Electronic Circuits to Model Cooperativity in Hill Process

In the field of computational biology, electronic modeling of bio-cellular processes is in vogue for about a couple of decades. Fast, efficient and scalable electronic mimetics of recurrently found bio-chemical reactions are expected to provide better electronic circuit simulators that can also be used as bio-sensors or implantable biodevices at cellular levels. This paper presents some possible electronic circuit equivalents to model dynamics of one such bio-chemical reaction commonly involved in many bio-cellular processes, specifically pathways in living cells, known as the Hill process. The distinguishing feature of this process is cooperativity which has been modeled in silicon substrate using a pair of transistors, one transistor driving current in the other the same way ligand binding to one receptor site controls the binding affinity of the other receptor sites. Two possible circuits have been proposed and compared to electronically model cooperativity of a Hill reaction. The main idea is to exploit the natural analogies found between structures and processes of a bio-cell and electronic transistor mechanics, to efficiently model fundamental bio-chemical reactions found recurring in bio-processes. These circuits can then be combined and rearranged quickly to form larger, more complex bio-networks, thus mitigating the intricacies involved in modeling of such systems.

Photochemical activity of chloroplasts of isogenic lines (E genes) of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) under different periods of red-light irradiation

The effect of different periods of red-light (RL, 660 nm) irradiation of plants on the biomass, leaf area, chlorophyll content, level of the Hill reaction and photophosphorylation in short-day (SD) and photoperiodical neutral (PhPN) lines of soybean have been studied in vegetation experiments. The objects of study were the isogenic lines (E genes) of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), Clark variety. The SD (E1E2E3) and PhPN lines (e1e2e3) were used. The plants were grown in a vegetation chamber in the soil culture (black soil). Plants of SD and PhPN lines were grown in 9 vessels of three liters volume. 10–12 plants were grown in each vessel. The constant growing conditions were provided during the experiment: temperature – 20–24/17–20°С (day/night), soil moisture – 60–70 % of the total soil moisture content, intensity of illumination – 20 klx, photoperiod duration – 10 hours. After 4–5 weeks of vegetation (after the second true leaf formation), plants of each line in three vessels were irradiated for 30 minutes with low intensity red light at the beginning (experiment 1) or in the middle of the dark period (experiment 2). The light diodes emitting in the region of 630±10 nm were used for plant irradiation. Other plants in three vessels of each line, which were not illuminated by the red light, were used as a control group. It was shown that under the short day the SD line in the control group passed to flowering 43±1.8 days after germination and PhPN line – 44±2.2 days after germination. The red-light irradiation, both before the beginning and in the middle of night, caused a delay of the transition to flowering in the SD line by 5±1 and 7±2.2 days, respectively. In the PhPN line, changing flowering period due to RL was not established. In the SD line, activation of the phytochromes by RL before the dark period caused an increase of the biomass, leaf area, total chlorophyll content, reduction of potassium ferrocyanide and photophosphorylation by isolated chloroplasts per chlorophyll of one leaf. While interruption of the night by RL caused decrease of these parameters and Hill reaction intensity per 1 mg of chlorophyll. The effect of RL on the studied parameters in the PhPN soybean line has not been detected.

Effect of the red light on the photosynthesis and phenolic accumulation in leaves of Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam

Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam a native herbaceous species containing many phenolic compounds is used in traditional medicine and medicinal technology. Phenolic acid, as well as many other secondary metabolites are photosynthetic-derived products. In this research, red LEDs (660 nm) and white fluorescent light were used to investigate the effects of different light sources on the photosynthesis and leaf phenolic compound accumulation of in vitro and ex vitro plants. Red LED (50 umol/m2/sec) promoted the stem elongation without changing plant biomass of in vitro plants. Increasing red LED intensities (from 50 to 100 or 150 umol/m2/sec) decrease maximum photochemical quantum yield of PS II (Fv/Fm) and coefficient of photochemical fluorescence quenching (qP), but stabilized electron transfer (ETR) and coefficient of non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (qN) of in vitro leaves. Under 100 umol/m2/sec of red LED, ex vitro leaf area, carotenoid contents, isolated chloroplast. Hill reaction and total sugar content were significantly reduced in comparison to those parameters from control plants under white light. Ex vitro plants' total carbohydrate contents were not statistically different the total leaf phenolic content of ex vitro plants under red LED light exposure was much higher than that the of control.

Effects of Some Hill Reaction-Inhibiting Herbicides on Nitrous Oxide Emission from Nitrogen-Input Farming Soil

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission-suppressing activity of some electron-transport inhibitors of the Hill reaction system was investigated. The Hill reaction inhibitors—paraquat, isouron, bromacil, diquat, and simazine—all of which have been or are currently being used as herbicides in farming activity are expected to inhibit the electron-transporting pathways of nitrate respiration in denitrifying bacteria. Using N2O-emitting soil bed (5.0 g of fresh weight) from a continuously manured Andisol corn farmland in Hokkaido, Japan, which was autoclaved and further supplemented with an active N2O-emitter, Pseudomonas sp. 5CFM15-6D, and 1 mL of 100 mM NH4NO3 or (NH4)2SO4 solution as the sole nitrogen source (final concentration, 0.2 mM) in a 30 mL gas-chromatography vial, the effects of the five herbicides on N2O emission were examined. Paraquat and isouron (each at 50 µM) showed a statistically significant suppression of N2O emission in both the nitrification and the denitrification processes after a 7-day-incubation, whereas diquat at the same concentration accelerated N2O emission in the presence of NO3−. These results suggest that paraquat and isouron inhibited both the nitrification and the denitrification processes for N2O generation, or its upstream stages, whereas diquat specifically inhibited N2O reductase, an enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of N2O to N2 gas. Incomplete denitrifiers are the key players in the potent emission of N2O from Andisol corn farmland soil because of the missing nosZ gene. The electron relay system-inhibiting herbicides—paraquat and isouron—possibly contribute to the prevention of denitrification-induced nitrogen loss from the farming soil.