Kensaku Suzuki

The Chilling Injury Induced by High Root Temperature in the Leaves of Rice Seedlings

Root temperature is found to be a very important factor for leaves to alter the response and susceptibility to chilling stress. Severe visible damage was observed in the most active leaves of seedlings of a japonica rice (Oryza sativa cv. Akitakomachi), e.g. the third leaf at the third-leaf stage, after the treatment where only leaves but not roots were chilled (L/H). On the other hand, no visible damage was observed after the treatment where both leaves and roots were chilled simultaneously (L/L). The chilling injury induced by L/H, a novel type of chilling injury, required the light either during or after the chilling in order to develop the visible symptoms such as leaf bleaching and tissue necrosis. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters measured after various lengths of chilling treatments showed that significant changes were induced before the visible injury. The effective quantum yield and photochemical quenching of PSII dropped dramatically within 24 h in both the presence and absence of a 12 h light period. The maximal quantum yield and non-photochemical quenching of PSII decreased significantly only in the presence of light. On the other hand, L/H chilling did not affect the function of PSI, but caused a significant decrease in the electron availability for PSI. These results suggest that the leaf chilling with high root temperature destroys some component between PSII and PSI without the aid of light, which causes the over-reduction of PSII in the light, and thereby the visible injury is induced only in the light.

High Root Temperature Blocks Both Linear and Cyclic Electron Transport in the Dark During Chilling of the Leaves of Rice Seedlings

The most photosynthetically active leaves of rice seedlings were severely damaged when shoots but not roots were chilled (10°C/25°C, respectively), but no such injury was observed when the whole seedling was chilled (10°C/10°C). To elucidate the mechanisms, we compared the photosynthetic characteristics of the seedlings during the dark chilling treatments. Simultaneous analyses of Chl fluorescence and the change in absorbance of P700 showed that electron transport almost disappeared in both PSII and PSI in the 10°C/25°C leaves, whereas the electron transport rate in PSI in the 10°C/10°C leaves was similar to or higher than that in non-chilled control leaves. Light-induced non-photochemical quenching in PSII was inhibited in the 10°C/25°C leaves, occurring at only half the level in the 10°C/10°C leaves, whereas non-light-induced non-photochemical quenching remained high in the 10°C/25°C leaves. The light induction of Chl a fluorescence (OJIP curves) in the 10°C/25°C leaves was similar to that in leaves treated with DCMU. The fluorescence decay after a single turnover saturating flash in the 10°C/25°C leaves was much slower than in the 10°C/10°C leaves. In vivo analyses of the 550-515 nm difference signal indicated decreased formation of a proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane and decreased zeaxanthin formation in the 10°C/25°C leaves. Our results suggest that electron transport was blocked between Q(A) and Q(B) in the dark 10°C/25°C leaves, but without irreversible damage to the components of this system. The consequent light-dependent losses of electron transport, proton gradient formation across the thylakoids and thermal dissipation may therefore be responsible for the visible injury.

A Mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with Reduced Rate of Photorespiration

Photorespiration rates under air-equilibrated condi- tions (0.04% CO2 and 21% O2) were measured in Chla- mydomonas reinhardtii wild-type 2137, a phosphoglyco- late-phosphatase-deficient (pgpl) mutant and a suppressor double mutant (7FR2N) derived from the pgpl mutant. In both cells grown under 5% CO2 and adapted air for 24 h in the suppressor double mutant, the maximal rate of pho- torespiration (phosphoglycolate synthesis) was only about half of that in either the wild type or the pgpl mutant (18-7F) cells. In the progeny, the reduced rate of pho- torespiration was accompanied by increased photosynthet- ic affinity for inorganic carbon and the capacity for growth under air whether accompanied by the pgpl background or not. Tetrad analyses suggested that these three character- istics all resulted from a nuclear single-gene mutation at a site unlinked to the pgpl mutation. The decrease in pho- torespiration was, however, not due to an increase in the CO2/O2 relative specificity of ribulose-l,5- bisphosphate car- boxylase/oxygenase of 7FR2N or of any other suppressor double mutants tested. The relationship between the de- crease in the rate of photorespirat ion and the CO2-con- centrating mechanism is discussed.

Accumulation of Nitrate and Nitrite in Chilled Leaves of Rice Seedlings is Induced by High Root Temperature

We previously found a novel type of chilling injury in the leaves of rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L. cv. Akitakomachi). The damage was only observed when the roots were not chilled (10 °C/25 °C, shoots/roots), but not when the whole seedling was chilled (10 °C/10 °C). In this report, we show that the chilling injury induced by high root temperature required nitrate and potassium together with a trace amount of iron, manganese or both in the nutrient solution during the treatment, and that the injury was increased by nitrogen starvation before chilling. Both nitrate and nitrite accumulated in the 10 °C/25 °C leaves when the nutrient solution contained nitrate. The nitrate accumulation in the 10 °C/25 °C leaves was highest at the end of the first light period, and was followed by a decrease with a concomitant increase in nitrite during the first dark period. The photosynthetic electron transport was completely lost in both PSII and PSI in the 10 °C/25 °C leaves when the nutrient solution contained nitrate. However, the activities in the leaves of the 10 °C/25 °C plants treated with the nutrient solution lacking nitrate remained at approximately half those in the 10 °C/10°C leaves. The photochemical quenching of Chl fluorescence and the P700 oxidation state were also intermediate between those in the 10 °C/25 °C and 10 °C/10°C leaves of plants supplied with the complete nutrients. Thus, the chilling injury was closely linked to the accumulation of nitrate and nitrite, as well as to a malfunction of photosynthesis in the 10 °C/25 °C leaves.