Redox state of the photosynthetic electron transport chain in wild-type and mutant leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana: Impact on photosystem II fluorescence

In addition to the photosynthetic linear electron transport, several alternative electron transport routes exist in thylakoids of higher plants. The plastoquinone (PQ) pool acts as a common electron carrier in these pathways. In the cyclic electron flow around photosystem I (PSI), reduced ferredoxin is used by the ferredoxin-quinone reductase (FQR) to reduce the PQ pool. Chlororespiratory pathway consists in the reduction of the PQ pool by the NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH). These alternative pathways and their role in photosynthesis are still not fully understood. In the present study, the accumulation kinetics of quinone acceptors was measured by fluorescence induction in leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana wild-type and mutants altered in alternative electron pathways after various light- and dark-adaptation conditions. Results show that NDH activity can be probed by fluorescence induction during light-to-dark transition of plants. Also, the activity of FQR pathway did not affect directly the FI kinetics. However, the accumulation kinetics of reduced PQ under actinic light was dependant on the redox state of PSI acceptors prior to illumination.