• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.442-448
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• 2009

We investigated photooxidation and responses of antioxidant enzymes involved in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) after light-chilling ($4^{\circ}C$) for 2 days and post chilling ($25^{\circ}C$) in rice leaves. Chilling leaves indicated a 50% reduction in photosynthetic efficiency ($F_v/F_m$ ratio) and a 48% increase of $H_2O_2$, respectively, compared to the control group. In comparison with the control, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GR) increased at light-chilling and post-chilling. CuZn-SOD and Mn-SOD among SOD forms were detected in rice leaves, while Fe-SOD was not found. The increase of SOD and GR activity may serve as a basis for defense against chilling injury as it dismutase superoxide generated by light-chilling. Catalase (CAT) activity decreased during light-chilling, while activity of APX showed remarkable increase during light-chilling in rice leaves. Among CAT isoforms analyzed by 10% native PAGE, activities of isoform -2 and -3 were inhibited during light-chilling. From the elevated APX activity and decreased CAT activity, we suggest that these two enzymes show mutual supplementary relationships, indicating different tendency during light-chilling.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 1996

To investigate the chilling sensitivity related injuries in the photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber leaves, the light-chilling induced alterations of chlorophyll fluorescence transients in cucumber leaves were compared with those in pea leaves. As an early effect of light-chilling, an increase in Fp/Fm$^*$ was observed in both pea and cucumber leaves, which was saturated by about 6 h chilling. However, the saturated value of Fp/Fm was almost 1.0 in cucumber, in contrast to about 0.8 in pea. During the recovery period after 24 h chilling, the light-chilling induced changes in pea seemed to be reversed, but those in cucumber leaves were thought to be irreversible, because Fo was increased significantly. Light-chilling caused significant decreases in qQ and qE in cucumber leaves, but qR was increased until 6 h, and decreased thereafter. In both pea and cucumber leaves, Fm was increased by 2 h dark treatment. The Fm from the predarkened pea leaf discs was higher than the value from the preilluminated ones during the whole period of light-chilling (500 $\mu$mol m$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ PAR). However, the predarkened cucumber leaf discs showed a reduction in Fm and an increase in Fo during the 2 h chilling in the light. These results indicate that the causes of chilling sensitivities in photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber leaves are possibly related with the damage in PSI reaction center and the ability of acidification of lumen by PSII.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 1993

The photosynthetic activities in relation to oxygen evolution rates, quantum yield, CO2 uptake rates and room temperature chlorophyll fluorescence were investigated in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings exposed to low temperature (at 4$^{\circ}C$) for 24 h. Light-chilling caused more inhibition on light-saturated maximum oxygen evolution rates, quantum yield, and CO2 uptake rates than dark-chilling did in the cucumber plant. Light-chilling induced more marked increase in Fo and decrease in (Fv)m/Fm than dark-chilling did in the room temperature chlorophyll induction kinetics. The above results affected by chilling in the light are considered to be associated with the partial damage of the reaction center of PS II and the decreased photosynthetic activities. There occurred a large decrease in qQ with little change in qNP in the light-chilling plant. When light- and dark-chilled plants were recovered at room temperature for 24 h and their chlorophyll fluorescences were induced with light doubling technique, light-chilled plants showed more smaller magnitude and rate of fluorescence relaxation than dark-chilled plants. These suggest that light-chilling might cause some alterations in transthylakoid pH formation, and that photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber cotyledons is more susceptible to light-chilling. In the fast fluorescence induction kinetics, FR was decreased by 60% in the light-chilled plants with reference to $25^{\circ}C$ light-grown plants, while the dark-chilled plants showed a decreased rate of only 20% with reference to $25^{\circ}C$ dark-treated plants for 24 h, indicating that cucumber seedling is very sensitive to chilling stress. So, it is certain that chilling injury to the photosynthetic apparatus is strongly dependent on the presence of light in cucumber seedlings.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.398-404
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• 1996

Light-chilling effects were investigated in chilling-sensitive cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Ilmichungjang) and chilling-resistant pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Giant) leaf discs in relation to possible damage in D1 protein. In both plants, dark-chilling did not cause any noticeable changes in (Fv)m/Fm and lincomycin did not affect the decrease in (Fv)m/Fm caused by light-chilling. This result suggests that the de novo synthesis of D1 protein did not occur actively during light-chilling. In pea light-chilled for 6 h. the decreased (Fv)m/Fm was partly recovered in the dark, and almost complete recovery was observed in the light. In cucumber light-chilled for 3 h. the reduced (Fv)m/Fm decreased further for the initial 2 h recovery process in the light regardless of the treatment of lincomycin and recovered very slowly. In both plant species, the treatment of lincomycin inhibited the recovery process in the light, but did not significantly inhibit the process in the dark. In cucumber leaves pulse-labeled with $[^{35}S]Met$, the labeled band intensities of isolated pigment-protein complexes were almost the same during the 6 h light-chilling, but significant decreases in band intensities were observed during the 3 h recovery period. This result suggests that the irreversibly damaged D1 protein was degraded during the recovery period. However, no noticeable changes were observed in the pea leaves during the 12 h chilling and 3 h recovery period. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the pigment-protein complexes showed that the principal lesion sites of light-chilling were different from those of room temperature photoinhibition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.41-41
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• 1996

Chilling-sensitive plants are damaged severly by chilling in the light. The activity of photosystem I(PSI) is known to be inhibited by low light-chilling and its iron-sulfur centers are presumed to be its primary target. In this report, the effect of chilling at 4$^{\circ}C$ in the light was investigated in the level of pigment-protein complexes in cucumber leaves compared with pea leaves. (omitted)

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.151-163
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• 1996

To investigate the early symptoms of light-chilling, alterations of chlorophyll fluorescence transients were monitored in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Ilmichungjang) leaves. During 24 h chilling, decreases in (Fv)m/Fm, qE and qQ, and an increase in Fo were observed. The chilling effects were not recovered at room temperature, and a significant increase in Fo was observed during the recovery period. After 6 h chilling, ‘dip’(D) level of the transients became obscure, and the negative slope after ‘peak’(P) disappeared. The first derivative (dFv/dt) of the fast fluorescence rise curve was used to obtain more accurate information about the changes in the transients. The maximal rate of the fluorescence increase in the D-p rise curve (Fr) has been the most frequently used chilling stress indicator. However, a correct value of Fr could not be measured when the D level became obscure. This problem was overcome by introducing a new indicator, HFr (dFv/dt at Fv = 1/2 (Fv)m), and HFr gave very similar values to Fr. To monitor the changes in curvature around D level, another new parameter, ${\Delta}S$(D-Fr), was also introduced. These three parameters decreased very sensitively during light-chilling. In addition, increases in these parameters were observed during the first 2 h chilling, but this increase in Fr was also observed in pea leaf discs dark-chilled for 15 min, suggesting that this very early change is a common response to chilling in both pea and cucumber leaves. Quenching coefficients were also very sensitive to chilling, especially qE. Discussion on the usage of these parameters as chilling stress indicators is given in the text.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.59-62
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• 2002

In chilling-sensitive plants, the donor side of Photosystem II is inhibited by the chilling treatment in the dark, while the acceptor side of Photosystem I is inhibited by the chilling under the moderate light. Since the addition of inhibitors of electron transfer from Photosystem II protects Photosystem I from chilling induced photoinhibition of Photosystem I, inhibition or down-regulation of Photosystem II activity in vivo may also protect Photosystem I from photoinhibition. It was revealed that dark-chilling pretreatment actually protected Photosystem I from photoinhibition. The results imply that down-regulation of Photosystem II under stress conditions may have a role to protect Photosystem I from photoinhibition.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.8 no.3_4
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• pp.105-112
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• 2001

Susceptibility to low temperature photoinhibition in photosynthetic apparatus was compared among three cucumber cultivars, Gahachungjang (GH), Banbaekjijeo (BB) and Gaeryangsymji (GR). By chilling in the light for 6 h, a sustained decrease in the potential quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and the oxidizable P700 contents was observed, and the decrease was less in GH than in BB and GR. Although the difference was small, some $\Phi_{PSII}$ remained in GH after light-chilling for 6 h indicating that a few electrons can flow around photosystem II(PSII). As a consequence, the primary electron acceptor of PSII, $Q_{A}$, was reduced slowly and was not fully reduced after light-chilling for 6 h in GH. Although the amplitude was small, the development of NPQ was also faster in GH, indicating a higher capacity for non-photochemical energy dissipation. The relative fraction of a fast relaxing component of NPQ (qf) was higher in GH. After light-chilling for 5 h, the values of qf in BB and GR became much smaller than that in GH, indicating BB and GR suffered more significant uncoupling of ATPase and/or irreversible damages in PSII. When fluorescence induction transients were recorded after chilling, significant differences in quenching coefficients (qQ and qN) were observed among the three cultivars.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 1996

For three cultivars of chilling-sensitive cucumber plants, chilling sensitivity was evaluated in terms of photosynthetic activity using Chl fluorescence techniques. Low-temperature treatment caused a decrease in photosynthetic activities of cucumber leaves, measured as CO$_2$ exchange, as well as the decrease in the stomatal conductance. FR of the three cultivars decreased after chilling for 24 h in light and the extent of decline of F$_R$ was the greatest in 'Chosaeng' cultivar. When these plants were recovered from light-chilling, 'Chosaeng' and 'Samchuk' cultivars did not fully restore the original value of F$_R$ after 24 h of recovery, in contrast to 'Ilmi' cultivar which showed a rather efficient recovery. The results of FR study showed that 'Chosaeng' was most susceptible, whereas Ilmi was most resistant, to chilling among the three cultivars of cucumber plants. When quenching coefficients for chlorophyll fluorescence was analyzed after chilling the cucumber plants for 24 h in light, 'Chosaeng' elicited more rapid declines in the coefficients for photochemical quenching (qQ), non-photochemical quenching (qNP) and energy-dependent quenching (qE) than 'Ilmi' and 'Samchuk'. The implications of these observations are discussed in relation to the growth habits of the respective cultivars in the field. The results showed that measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence was an effective means of screening chilling tolerance of cucumber plants. Furthermore, the study on the chlorophyll fluorescence induction and fluorescence quenching charactersitics showed that low temperature could accelerate inhibition of photosynthesis in chilling-sensitive plants, by limiting Calvin cycle activity and disrupting, in part, the energy dissipation mechanims of the photosystem II.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.53-61
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• 1998

Using a squash plant, a chilling-sensitive species, and a spinach plant, a chilling-resistant one, effects of chilling temperature on the photosynthetic machinery were studied in terms of chlorophyll fluorescence. When thylakoid membranes were isolated and subjected to incubation at different temperatures, spinach showed stable photosystem II activity at the low temperature side, in contrast to squash which showed quite severe inactivation at low temperature. When parameters of chlorophyll fluorescence were examined, chilling in darkness did not affect either Fv/Fm or photochemical and non-photochemical quenching, in both types of plants. However, chilling of squash plants under irradiance of medium intensity caused a specific decrease in Fv/Fm accompanied by a decline in energy-dependent quenching. Contrastingly, photosystem li of spinach plants were not much affected by light-chilling. When the pool size of zeaxanthin was examined after exposure to high light at different temperatures, squash plants was shown to have a much lower content of antheraxanthin + zeaxanthin, as compared to spinach plants, during low-temperature photoinhibition. These results suggest that chilling-sensitive plants have low capacity to dissipate excitation energy nonradiatively, when they are exposed to low-temperature photoinhibition, and, as a consequence, more vulnerable to photoinhibitory, damage to the photosynthetic apparatus.