The mechanisms by which phenanthrene affects the photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber leaves

•Short-term phenanthrene treatment inhibited the photosynthesis of cucumber leaves.•Phenanthrene suppressed PSII activity.•Phenanthrene caused ROS accumulation and D1 protein degradation under high light.

Phenanthrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that is widely distributed in the environment and seriously affects the growth and development of plants. To clarify the mechanisms of the direct effects of phenanthrene on the plant photosynthetic apparatus, we measured short-term phenanthrene-treated cucumber leaves. Phenanthrene inhibited Rubisco carboxylation activity, decreasing photosynthesis rates (Pn). And phenanthrene inhibited photosystem II (PSII) activity, thereby blocking photosynthetic electron transport. The inhibition of the light and dark reactions decreased the photosynthetic electron transport rate (ETR) and increased the excitation pressure (1−qP). Under high light, the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) in phenanthrene-treated cucumber leaves decreased significantly, but photosystem I (PSI) activity (Δ I/Io) did not. Phenanthrene also caused a J-point rise in the OJIP curve under high light, which indicated that the acceptor side of PSII QA to QB electron transfer was restricted. This was primarily due to the net degradation of D1 protein, which is caused by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in phenanthrene-treated cucumber leaves under high light.This study demonstrated that phenanthrene could directly inhibit photosynthetic electron transport and Rubisco carboxylation activity to decrease net Pn. Under high light, phenanthrene caused the accumulation of ROS, resulting in net increases in D1 protein degradation and consequently causing PSII photoinhibition.