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Effects of heat stress on photosynthetic electron transport in a marine cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp.

  • 1st International Coastal Biology Congress, Yantai, China
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Abstract

Arthrospira (Spirulina) is widely used as human health food and animal feed. In cultures grown outdoors in open ponds, Arthrospira cells are subjected to various environmental stresses, such as high temperature. A better understanding of the effects of high temperature on photosynthesis may help optimize the productivity of Arthrospira cultures. In this study, the effects of heat stress on photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll a fluorescence transients, and photosystem (PS) II, PSI activities in a marine cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp. were examined. Arthrospira cells grown at 25 °C were treated for 30 min at 25 (control), 30, 34, 37, or 40 °C in the dark. Heat stress (30–37 °C) enhanced net photosynthetic O2 evolution rate. Heat stress caused over-reduction PSII acceptor side, damage of donor side of PSII, decrease in the energetic connectivity of PSII units, and decrease in the performance of PSII. When the temperature changed from 25 to 37 °C, PSII activity decreased, while PSI activity increased, the enhancement of photosynthetic O2 evolution was synchronized with the increase in PSI activity. When temperature was further increased to 40 °C, it induced a decrease in photosynthetic O2 evolution rate and a more severe decrease in PSII activity, but an increase in PSI activity. These results suggest that PSI activity was the decisive factor determining the change of photosynthetic O2 evolution when Arthrospira was exposed to a temperature from 25 to 37 °C, but then, PSII activity became the decisive factor adjusting the change of photosynthetic O2 evolution when the temperature was increased to 40 °C.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the Key Project of Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation (BK2011009), Prospective Project for Production and Research Cooperation of Jiangsu (BY2013044), and the Innovation Fund Designated for Post Doctors of Shandong Province (201203107).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Litao Zhang & Jianguo Liu

  2. Nantong Branch, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226004, People’s Republic of China

    Jianguo Liu

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  1. Litao Zhang
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  2. Jianguo Liu
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Correspondence to Jianguo Liu.

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Zhang, L., Liu, J. Effects of heat stress on photosynthetic electron transport in a marine cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp.. J Appl Phycol 28, 757–763 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-015-0615-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-015-0615-4

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