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The non-foliar hypoxic photosynthetic syndrome: evidence for enhanced pools and functionality of xanthophyll cycle components and active cyclic electron flow in fruit chlorenchyma

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Main conclusion

Green fruits display a high engagement in CEF and enhanced VAZ cycle activity as a response to the demands imposed by their internal aerial conditions, particularly low O 2 , due to gas exchange limitations.

In the present study, we used HPLC analysis, post-illumination changes in fluorescence yield under varying O2 and CO2 partial pressures and absorbance changes at 820 nm induced by far-red light to assess the carotenoid composition, the functionality of the xanthophyll cycle (VAZ) and the possibility of an active cyclic e − flow (CEF) in the fully exposed green fruits from Nerium oleander and Rosa sp. Equally exposed, mature leaves served as controls. Compared to leaves, fruits display less total chlorophylls and carotenoids but higher Car/Chl ratio, mainly shaped by the increased pools of the VAZ cycle components, in both species. The enhanced VAZ pool size in fruits is combined with a higher mid-day de-epoxidation state (DEPS). Moreover, fruits exhibit considerably lower levels of oxidizable P700, a faster re-reduction of PSI and significantly higher relative magnitude of CEF, irrespective of the O2/CO2 levels applied. We conclude that the higher VAZ investment may serve the enhanced heat dissipation needs in fruits, in the presence of a suppressed linear e − flow. In addition, the elevated potential of CEF may replenish the ATP lost due to hypoxia and concurrently facilitate the development of adequate non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), through its contribution to ΔpH increase. Since other non-foliar green organs exhibit a similar photosynthetic pattern, we argue that this may reflect a common strategy for green tissues under similar micro-environmental conditions, particularly hypoxia.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund, ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)—Research Funding Program: Heracleitus II. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund. The authors thank Prof. Y. Manetas for his helpful comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, University of Patras, 265 04, Patras, Greece

    Alexandra Kyzeridou & Yiola Petropoulou

  2. Institute of Biosciences and Applications, NCSR Demokritos, Agia Paraskevi Attikis, 153 10, Athens, Greece

    Kostas Stamatakis

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  1. Alexandra Kyzeridou
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  2. Kostas Stamatakis
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  3. Yiola Petropoulou
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Correspondence to Yiola Petropoulou.

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Kyzeridou, A., Stamatakis, K. & Petropoulou, Y. The non-foliar hypoxic photosynthetic syndrome: evidence for enhanced pools and functionality of xanthophyll cycle components and active cyclic electron flow in fruit chlorenchyma. Planta 241, 1051–1059 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2234-8

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