Interaction of proline, sugars, and anthocyanins during photosynthetic acclimation of Arabidopsis thaliana to drought stress.

The relationships among photosynthetic acclimation, proline (Pro), soluble sugar (SS), and anthocyanin (An) accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves to the onset of drought stress (OnDS), mild (MiDS) and moderate drought stress (MoDS), were evaluated. As leaf water content (LWC) decreased, metabolic concentrations (Pro, SS, and An) increased and were negatively and significantly correlated with LWC. Thus, these metabolites may have an important role in the acclimation process to drought stress (DS). No correlations among Pro, SS and An accumulation with the quantum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Φ(PSII)) and the excitation pressure (1-q(P)) were observed under DS. This implies that, while metabolites increased in a drought-dependent way, PSII activity did not decrease in the same pattern. Our results indicated that, under MoDS, A. thaliana leaves were able to maintain oxidative compounds such as malondialdeyde, an end product of lipid peroxidation, within the range of control leaves, and to cope with oxidative damage, as was evident by the decreased excitation pressure (1-q(P)) and similar (ns difference) Φ(PSII) to that of control leaves. In addition, a statistically significant increased accumulation of Pro, SS and An was recorded only under MoDS compared to controls. The better PSII functioning of MoDS Arabidopsis leaves may reflect the greater capacity of these leaves to undertake key metabolic adjustments, including increased Pro, SS and An accumulation, to maintain a higher antioxidant protection and a better balance between light capture and energy use.

Sperdouli I ，Moustakas M 《-》

Spatio-temporal heterogeneity in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves under drought stress.

Using chlorophyll (chl) fluorescence imaging, we studied the effect of mild (MiDS), moderate (MoDS) and severe (SDS) drought stress on photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry of 4-week-old Arabidopsis thaliana. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity in all chl fluorescence parameters was maintained throughout water stress. After exposure to drought stress, maximum quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (F(v)/F(m)) and quantum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Φ(PSΙΙ)) decreased less in the proximal (base) than in the distal (tip) leaf. The chl fluorescence parameter F(v) /F(m) decreased less after MoDS than MiDS. Under MoDS, the antioxidant mechanism of A. thaliana leaves seemed to be sufficient in scavenging reactive oxygen species, as evident by the decreased lipid peroxidation, the more excitation energy dissipated by non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and decreased excitation pressure (1-q(p)). Arabidopsis leaves appear to function normally under MoDS, but do not seem to have particular metabolic tolerance mechanisms under MiDS and SDS, as revealed by the level of lipid peroxidation and decreased quantum yield for dissipation after down-regulation in PSII (Φ(NPQ)), indicating that energy dissipation by down-regulation did not function and electron transport (ETR) was depressed. The simultaneous increased quantum yield of non-regulated energy dissipation (Φ(NO)) indicated that both the photochemical energy conversion and protective regulatory mechanism were insufficient. The non-uniform photosynthetic pattern under drought stress may reflect different zones of leaf anatomy and mesophyll development. The data demonstrate that the effect of different degrees of drought stress on A. thaliana leaves show spatio-temporal heterogeneity, implying that common single time point or single point leaf analyses are inadequate.

Sperdouli I ，Moustakas M 《-》

Leaf Age-Dependent Photosystem II Photochemistry and Oxidative Stress Responses to Drought Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana Are Modulated by Flavonoid Accumulation.

Sperdouli I ，Moustaka J ，Ouzounidou G ，Moustakas M ... -  《MOLECULES》

Hormesis Responses of Photosystem II in Arabidopsis thaliana under Water Deficit Stress.

Sperdouli I ，Ouzounidou G ，Moustakas M 《INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES》

Photosynthetic electron transport and specific photoprotective responses in wheat leaves under drought stress.

Zivcak M ，Brestic M ，Balatova Z ，Drevenakova P ，Olsovska K ，Kalaji HM ，Yang X ，Allakhverdiev SI ... -  《-》