Photosynthetica - Ahead of Print
In honor of Hartmut Karl Lichtenthaler
G. GOVINDJEE
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2020.080 
We honor here Hartmut Karl Lichtenthaler, a pioneer of plant physiology, plant biochemistry, plant biophysics, plant molecular biology, and stress physiology. His contributions to the ingenious use of chlorophyll a fluorescence imaging in understanding the physiological processes in leaves stand out. We wish him many happy and productive years of research and educating others.
Application of fast light-readapted plants for measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence and P700 light absorption with the RLC method
E.A. Lysenko
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.015
The rapid light curve method is a time-saving approach to the measurement of photosynthetic processes over a wide spectrum of light intensities. The adaptation to darkness enables the calculation of a complete set of coefficients for chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence and P700 light absorption; however, dark-adapted plants demonstrate drastically different patterns of Chl fluorescence than that of light-adapted plants. The present work compared light-adapted barley plants without dark adaptation (L), and barley plants adapted to darkness and readapted to light for 7.5 min (D/L). The rapid light curves were generally similar in both the L and...
Comparison of water depth tolerance in two major wetland macrophytes, Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia
U. SONG
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.016
Two major emergent macrophytes, Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia, show a clear zonation with respect to water depth, i.e., P. australis occupies shallower water than T. angustifolia. However, the reasons for this interspecific difference is unclear. Therefore, this study focused on the features that enable T. angustifolia to survive at greater water depths than P. australis. In both outdoor and greenhouse experiments, P. australis did not survive at the deepest water depth and showed significantly lower biomass, nitrogen content, and photosynthesis in most deep and/or aerated water...
Can chlorophyll fluorescence imaging make the invisible visible?
R. VALCKE
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.017
Chlorophyll fluorescence has developed into a well-established noninvasive technique to study photosynthesis and by extension, the physiology of plants and algae. The versatility of the fluorescence analysis has been improved significantly due to advancements in the technology of light sources, detectors, and data handling. This allowed the development of an instrumention that is effective, easy to handle, and affordable. Several of these techniques rely on point measurements. However, the response of plants to environmental stresses is heterogeneous, both spatially and temporally. Beside the nonimaging systems, low- and high-resolution imaging systems...
Effects of sowing methods and nitrogen rates on photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and quality of winter wheat
H. NOOR, Q. WANG, M.A. ISLAM, M. SUN, W. LIN, A.X. REN, Y. FENG, S.B. YU, N. FIDA, S.F. DONG, P.R. WANG, L. LI, Z.X. WANG, R.R. ZHANG, Q.L. ZHAO, P.C. DING, Z.Q. GAO
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.018
Sustainability of winter wheat yield under dryland conditions depends on improvements in crop photosynthetic characteristics and crop yield. Therefore, studying the effects of different sowing methods and nitrogen rates on photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaves, nitrogen translocation, and yield could be an effective strategy to improve the crop yield. In this study, four nitrogen application concentrations and two sowing methods were used. The results showed that the photosynthetic rates were the highest at different stages of wide-space sowing (WSS) after flowering. Nitrogen concentration of 240 kg ha-1 improved the photosynthetic...
Biochemical and photosystem characteristics of wild-type and Chl b-deficient mutant in tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa)
L.X. ZHANG, Q.S. CHANG, X.G. HOU, S.D. CHEN, Q.M. ZHANG, J.Z. WANG, S.D. LIU, S. LI
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.019
In order to explore the adaptive strategies of tree peony yl1 mutant in response to photooxidative stress, the changes of biochemical parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, and the modulated 820-nm reflection of yl1 mutant and wild-type plants were compared. We found the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, the contents of soluble protein, proline, superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, and relative electrical conductivity were significantly higher than those of the wild type. The photochemical efficiency of PSII significantly decreased, while the proportion of heat dissipation of yl1 mutant increased...
Multi-colour fluorescence imaging of photosynthetic activity and plant stress
H.K. LICHTENTHALER
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.020
Imaging the four fluorescence bands of leaves, the red (F690) and far-red (F740) chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence as well as the blue (F440) and green (F520) fluorescence of leaves and the corresponding fluorescence ratios is a fast and excellent nondestructive technique to detect the photosynthetic activity and capacity of leaves, of gradients over the leaf area as well as the effect of various strain and stress parameters on plants. This review primarily deals with the first and pioneering multi-colour fluorescence imaging results obtained since the mid-1990s in a cooperation with French colleagues in Strasbourg...
Short-term photoacclimation and photoregulation strategies of Sargassum horneri in response to temperature and light
Z.H. ZHONG, Y. WANG, S. QIN, L.C. ZHUANG, J.J. LI, W.L. SONG, Z.Y. LIU
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.021
Sargassum horneri (Turner) C. Agardh is a genus of brown algae and plays an important role in marine ecosystem. However, the inhabiting area of S. horneri has been decreasing sharply in China. To understand the photoacclimation and photoregulation strategies of S. horneri in responses to temperature and light, S. horneri was cultured under different temperatures [18℃ (LT) and 26℃ (HT)] and light intensities [60 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1 (LL) and 120 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1 (HL)] for 7 d, and then the chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters were measured. The results...
Professor Giorgio Forti - Obituary
R.C. JENNINGS
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.022
Professor Giorgio Forti passed away on March 1, 2021 in his Milano home. Giorgio was the father of modern photosynthetic research in Italy. His contribution to photosynthesis studies for over 50 years is respected and acknowledged internationally.
Prof. Dr. Klaus Kloppstech - Always ahead, but never pushing forward. Impressive research without a tendency to overstatement
B. GRIMM
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.024
t happened still in the former era of molecular biology when PCR and generation of transgenic plants were not invented. And plant scientists recall times long past, when enormous efforts were necessary to extract RNA and DNA and to study translation of single mRNA species. Some milestones in the understanding of stress- and light-induced gene expression are associated with the name of Klaus Kloppstech. He sadly passed away on February 15, 2021.
Changes in grapevine berry skin photochemistry may support metabolic responses to postharvest treatment by ultraviolet light
K. CSEPREGI, P. TESZLÁK, A. RÁCZ, Gy. CZÉGÉNY, L. KŐRÖSI, É. HIDEG
Photosynthetica X:X | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2021.028
Harvested mature berry clusters of two white table grape cultivars were used to study the effects of postharvest UV irradiation. One cultivar, 'Queen of Vineyard' (QV), had higher light-acclimated PSII quantum yield, higher phenolic contents, and stronger total antioxidant capacities than the other, 'White Sultana' (WS). These differences were maintained throughout the experiment. Responses of the two cultivars to a 30-min UV irradiation were also different. Antioxidant capacities and flavonol, especially quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, contents were lower 2 h after the UV treatment in both cultivars and recovered in QV but not in WS berry skins...