No abstract

Chlorophyll fluorescence is an effective tool for investigating characteristics of any photosynthesizing organisms and its responses due to different stressors. Here, we have studied a short-term temperature response on two Antarctic green algal lichen species: Umbilicaria antarctica, and Physconia muscigena. We measured slow chlorophyll fluorescence transients in the species during slow a cooling of thallus temperature from 20°C to 5°C with a 10 min. acclimation at each temperature in dark. The measurements were supplemented with saturation pulses for the analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters: maximum yield of PS II photochemistry (FV/FM), effective quantum yield of PS II photochemistry (FPSII) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). In response to decreasing thallus temperature, we observed species-specific changes in chlorophyll fluorescence levels P, S, M, T reached during chlorophyll fluorescence transient as well as in the shape of the chlorophyll fluorescence transients. With a decrease in temperature, the time at which M and T chlorophyll fluorescence levels were reached, increased. These changes were attributed to redox state of plastoquinon pool, changes in Calvin-Benson cycle activity, non-photochemical quenching components, state transition in particular. In this study, we present some chlorophyll fluorescence ratios (P/M, M/T, P/T) and chlorophyll fluorescence increase rates (FR1, i.e. O to P, and FR2 - i.e. S to M) as the parameters reflecting direct temperature effects on chloroplastic apparatus of lichen alga sensitively. We proposed that species-specific changes in the slow phase of chlorophyll fluorescence transients could be potentially used as indicators of low temperature effects in photosynthetic apparatus of lichen algal photobionts. Interspecific differences in response to low temperature might be evaluated using the approach as well.

In this study, we investigated the effects of low temperature on the fast chlorophyll fluorescence transient (OJIP) and OJIP-derived parameters in chlorolichen Dermatocarpon polyphyllizum expossed to a gradually decreasing temperature (22°C, 18°C, 14°C, 12°C, 10°C, 7°C and 4°C). The segments of lichen thalli were exposed to a certain temperature either in dark-and light-adapted state for 10 minutes in order to evaluate the effects on chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. The initial photochemical phase of the transient (O-J) due to reduction of the primary quinone acceptor (Q A) was found temperature dependent. The K-step was apparent for the samples measured at the temperature above 12°C, but not below 10 o C in light-adapted lichen thalli. With the thallus temperature decrease, majority of the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters derived from OJIP (ET 0 /RC, Psi_0, and DI 0 /RC) showed no change in light-adapted samples but a decrease in darkadapted samples. The effects of dark-/ light-adaptation of the lichen samples on the OJIP and OJIP-derived parameters was attributed to the differences in production/utilization of high-energy products of primary photochemical processes of photosynthesis in darkand light-adapted state, respectively. The other parameters (ABS/RC, TR 0 /RC) showed a decrease with thallus temperature decrease both in light-and dark-adapted samples. The results suggest that fast chlorophyll fluorescence trasient is an useful tool to investigate temperature-dependent changes in photosystem II in chlorolichens, their photobionts, respectively.

Lichens, in polar and alpine regions, pass through repetitive dehydration and rehydration events over the years. The harsh environmental conditions affect the plasticity of lichen’s functional and structural features for their survival, in a species-specific way, and, thus, their optical and spectral characteristics. For an understanding on how dehydration affects lichens spectral reflectance, we measured visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra of Dermatocarpon polyphyllizum, a foliose lichen species, from James Ross Island (Antarctica), during gradual dehydration from fully wet (relative water content (RWC) = 100%) to dry state (RWC = 0%), under laboratory conditions, and compared several derived reflectance indices (RIs) to RWC. We found a curvilinear relationship between RWC and range of RIs: water index (WI), photochemical reflectance index (PRI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), modified chlorophyll absorption in reflectance indices (MCARI and MCARI1), simple ratio pigment index (SRPI), normalized pigment chlorophyll index (NPCI), and a new NIR shoulder region spectral ratio index (NSRI). The index NDVI was initially increased with maxima around 70% RWC and it steadily declined with further desiccation, whereas PRI in-creased with desiccation and steeply falls when RWC was below 10%. The curvilinear relationship, for RIs versus RWC, was best fitted by polynomial regressions of second or third degree, and it was found that RWC showed very high correlation with WI (R2 = 0.94) that is followed by MCARI (R2 = 0.87), NDVI (R2 = 0.83), and MCARI (R2 = 0.81). The index NSRI, proposed for accessing structural deterioration, was almost invariable during dehydration with the least value of the coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.28). This may mean that lichen, Dermatocarpon polyphyllizum, activates protection mechanisms initially in response to the progression of dehydration; however, severe dehydration causes deactivation of photosynthesis and associated pigments without much affecting its structure.

We studied the resistance of Parmotrema austrosinense to UV-B stress. We focused on the effects of a high dose UV-B radiation on the content of chlorophylls, carotenoids and UV-B screening compounds. Photosynthetic parameters were measured by chlorophyll fluorescence (potential and effective quantum yields, photochemical and non-photochemical quenching) and evaluated in control and UV-B-treated lichens. Lichens from two different locations in Cordoba, Argentina, were selected: (i) high altitude and dry plots at (Los Gigantes) and (ii) lowland high salinity plots (Salinas Grandes). UV-B treatment led to a decrease in the content of photosynthetic pigments and UV-B screens (absorbance decrease in 220-350 nm) in the samples from Salinas Grandes, while in Los Gigantes samples, an increase in UV-B screen content was observed. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters showed a UV-B-induced decline in F /F , Φ and qP indicating limitation of primary photosynthetic processes in photosystem II (PSII) of symbiotic alga, more pronounced in Salinas Grandes samples. Protective mechanism of PSII were activated by the UV-B treatment to a higher extent in samples from Salinas Grandes (NPQ 0.48) than in Los Gigantes samples (NPQ 0.26). We concluded that site-related characteristics, and in particular different UV-B radiation regimen, had a strong effect on resistance of the photosynthetic apparatus of P. austrosinense to UV-B radiation.