Characterizing non-photochemical quenching in leaves through fluorescence lifetime snapshots

Emily J Sylak-Glassman; Julia Zaks; Kapil Amarnath; Michelle Leuenberger; Graham R Fleming

doi:10.1007/s11120-015-0104-2

Characterizing non-photochemical quenching in leaves through fluorescence lifetime snapshots

Photosynth Res. 2016 Jan;127(1):69-76. doi: 10.1007/s11120-015-0104-2. Epub 2015 Mar 12.

Authors

Emily J Sylak-Glassman^{1

2

3}, Julia Zaks^{2

4

5}, Kapil Amarnath^{1

2

6}, Michelle Leuenberger^{1

2}, Graham R Fleming^{7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
² Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
³ IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute, 1899 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite 520, Washington, DC, 20006, USA.
⁴ Graduate Program in Applied Science and Technology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁵ Agilent Technologies, 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA, 95051, USA.
⁶ FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Rm. 440, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. grfleming@lbl.gov.
⁸ Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. grfleming@lbl.gov.
⁹ Graduate Program in Applied Science and Technology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. grfleming@lbl.gov.

PMID: 25762378
DOI: 10.1007/s11120-015-0104-2

Abstract

We describe a technique to measure the fluorescence decay profiles of intact leaves during adaptation to high light and subsequent relaxation to dark conditions. We show how to ensure that photosystem II reaction centers are closed and compare data for wild type Arabidopsis thaliana with conventional pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorescence measurements. Unlike PAM measurements, the lifetime measurements are not sensitive to photobleaching or chloroplast shielding, and the form of the fluorescence decay provides additional information to test quantitative models of excitation dynamics in intact leaves.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; Chlorophyll; Fluorescence lifetime; Fluorescence yield; Non-photochemical quenching.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological
Arabidopsis / chemistry
Arabidopsis / metabolism
Chlorophyll / chemistry
Chloroplasts / chemistry
Chloroplasts / metabolism
Equipment Design
Fluorescence
Light
Molecular Biology / instrumentation
Molecular Biology / methods*
Photosystem II Protein Complex / chemistry*
Photosystem II Protein Complex / metabolism
Plant Leaves / chemistry*
Plant Leaves / metabolism
Spinacia oleracea / chemistry

Substances

Photosystem II Protein Complex
Chlorophyll