Abstract
Photorespiration coupled with CO2 assimilation is thought to act as a defense system against photoinhibition caused by osmotic stress. In the present study, we examined whether such a mechanism is operative for the protection of photosystem I (PSI) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) including transgenic plants with decreased and increased Rubisco content (RBCS-antisense and RBCS-sense plants, respectively). All plants were hydroponically grown and moderate osmotic stress was imposed using hydroponic culture solutions containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) at 16% or 20% (w/v) for 2 d. In wild-type plants, the rates of CO2 assimilation (A) were significantly decreased by the PEG treatment, whereas the photorespiration activity estimated from the rates of electron transport in photosystem II (PSII) and A were not affected. The maximal quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and the maximal activity of PSI (Pm) were also not affected. In RBCS-antisense plants, A and the estimated photorespiration activity were considerably lower than those in wild-type plants in the presence or absence of the PEG treatment. Pm and both Fv/Fm and Pm decreased in the 16% PEG-treated and 20% PEG-treated RBCS-antisense plants, respectively. Thus, the decrease in Rubisco content led to the photoinhibition of PSI and PSII, indicating the importance of photorespiration coupled with CO2 assimilation for the protection of PSI from moderate PEG-induced osmotic stress. It was also shown that PSI was more sensitive to osmotic stress than PSII. In the PEG-treated wild-type and RBCS-antisense plants, osmotic-stress responses of the photosynthetic electron transport reactions upstream of PSI led to the oxidation of P700, which is thought to prevent PSI from over-reduction. Although such a defense system operated, it was not sufficient for the protection of PSI in RBCS-antisense plants. In addition, there were no large differences in the parameters measured between wild-type and RBCS-sense plants, as overproduction of Rubisco did not increase photorespiration activity.
Introduction
Drought stress is one of the most harmful environmental stresses on plant productivity. Stomatal closure in response to drought stress prevents water loss via transpiration but decreases CO2 availability within a leaf and energy consumption by the Calvin-Benson cycle (). The resulting excess light energy can over-reduce the photosynthetic electron transport (PET) chain (; ) and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) around photosystem II and I (PSII and PSI, respectively) (; ; ), leading to photoinhibition of these photosystems. PSI photoinhibition requires a long period of recovery and severely decreases photosynthesis and plant growth (; ), whereas PSII photoinhibition is repaired efficiently in a short period of time (; ). It has been observed that PSI suffered from photoinhibition under severe drought stress, whereas PSII was not largely affected in some tropical tree species (). Similar phenomena were observed when rice plants were subjected PEG-induced osmotic stress, which are widely used to mimic drought stress (). These results show that PSI is more sensitive to drought or osmotic stress than PSII. Therefore, PSI photoinhibition would be harmful under such stress conditions.
It has been reported that the PET reactions responded to drought or osmotic stress in a manner that limits the electron flow toward PSI. Such responses include the non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of light energy at PSII (; ; ; ; ; Zivcak et al., 2014; ) and limitation of the electron flow at the cytochrome b6/f complex (). These events were accompanied by the oxidation of the reaction center chlorophyll of PSI, P700 (; ; ; Zivcak et al., 2014; ), which was suggested to suppress the production of ROS in PSI (; ). These results strongly suggest that these drought- or osmotic-stress responses of the PET reactions protect PSI from over-reduction and photoinhibition by ROS.
In addition to these responses of the PET reactions, processes downstream of PSI can also contribute to the protection of PSI under drought stress. One such process is photorespiration, a large and energy-consuming pathway that salvages byproducts of the reaction of Rubisco in the Calvin-Benson cycle (). Rubisco catalyzes not only the carboxylation of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate, which generates two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate for CO2 assimilation, but also its oxygenation, which generates one molecule each of 2-phosphoglycolate and 3-phosphoglycerate. The photorespiratory pathway converts 2-phosphoglycolate to 3-phosphoglycerate while consuming reducing equivalents and ATP. Rubisco oxygenase activity and photorespiration are relatively active under CO2-limited conditions according to the C3 photosynthesis model of Farquhar and co-workers (; ). It was suggested that the rate of CO2 and O2 uptake by carboxylation and oxygenation reactions, respectively, is at the ratio of 1:2 under the CO2 compensation point, and that the Calvin-Benson cycle and the photorespiratory pathway operate in a balanced state. Photorespiration was estimated to consume a large portion of light energy under such conditions (; ). The rates of energy consumption by photorespiration were reported to increase in response to drought or osmotic stress (; ; ; ; ; ; ). It was also found that drought-stress induced NPQ, and that NPQ was further stimulated in barley mutants with decreased activity of a photorespiratory enzyme, suggesting that photorespiration consumes excess light energy under drought stress ().
However, it remains unclear whether photorespiration coupled with CO2 assimilation protects PSI under drought or osmotic stress. In the present study, this was explored in transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants with decreased Rubisco content (RBCS-antisense plants; ). We have recently reported that the PET chain was over-reduced in RBCS-antisense plants under the combination of high irradiance and CO2-compensated conditions (). PSI also became susceptible to excess light energy imposed by repetitive illumination of saturated pulse-light, which is thought to generate ROS in PSI (; Zivcak et al., 2015). Transgenic rice plants with increased Rubisco content (RBCS-8sense plants; ) were also used as control plants. We have previously observed that the activities of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation were not substantially enhanced in RBCS-sense plants (; ; ; ). Plants were exposed to moderate osmotic-stress treatments using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-containing culture solutions. The maximal quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and the maximal P700 signal of PSI (Pm) were determined as indices of photoinhibition and are discussed in relation to the activities of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation. In addition, osmotic-stress responses of the PET reactions were also examined by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence and P700 absorbance and its relationship with the activities of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation are discussed.
Materials and Methods
Plant Culture
Rice (Oryza sativa L. “Notohikari”) plants were used as wild-type plants and the background cultivar for the previously generated Rubisco-transgenic plants. T4 progenies of RBCS-antisense plants (line AS-71; ) and BC2 progenies of RBCS-sense plants (line Sr-26-8; ) were used. Each plant was grown hydroponically in a growth chamber (NC-441HC, NKsystem, Osaka, Japan) operated under the conditions of photon flux density of 400–500 μmol photon m−2 s−1, a photoperiod of 14 h, and day/night temperature regime of 27/22°C. Pre-soaked seeds were sown and germinated on a net floating on tap water, whose pH was adjusted to 5.3–5.5 with 1 M HCl. After 2 weeks, seedlings were transplanted into 1.1 L plastic pots filled with the culture solution. The composition of the culture solution is described in . The culture solution was renewed once a week. The concentration of the culture solution was increased depending on plant growth.
Osmotic-Stress Treatments Using PEG
Plants grown for approximately 60 d after sowing were subjected to osmotic stress treatments using PEG with an average molecular weight of 6,000 (PEG, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). The culture solution containing PEG at the concentration of 16 or 20% (w/v) was supplied instead of the regular culture solution for 2 d in the growth chamber described above. After the treatments, the uppermost, fully expanded leaves were used for the measurement of photosynthesis and biochemical assays.
Measurements of Photosynthesis
The rate of CO2 assimilation (A), chlorophyll fluorescence, and P700 absorbance were simultaneously measured using the combination system of GFS-3000 and DUAL-PAM-100 (Heinz Walz GmbH, Effeltrich, Germany). The detailed conditions are described in . Briefly, Fv/Fm and Pm were measured after the leaves were dark-adapted, followed by the measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence and P700 absorbance under the conditions of an actinic light intensity of 1,200 μmol photon m−2 s−1, an ambient CO2 partial pressure of 40 Pa, a leaf temperature of 27°C, and a relative humidity of 60–70%. The quantum efficiency of PSII [Y(II)], the quantum yields of the NPQ [Y(NPQ)] and of the non-regulated and non-photochemical energy dissipation [Y(NO)], and the index for the reduction of the primary plastoquinone electron acceptor in PSII (QA) (1-qL) were calculated following the methods described by and . Three complementary quantum yields were defined: Y(II) + Y(NO) + Y(NPQ) = 1. The rate of electron transport in PSII (ETRII) was calculated as Y(II) × photon flux density × α × 0.5. The absorptance (α) was adopted to be 0.84 in this study. The quantum efficiency of PSI [Y(I)] and the quantum yields of the donor side limitation of PSI [Y(ND)] and of the acceptor side limitation of PSI [Y(NA)] were calculated according to the methods described by and . Three complementary quantum yields were defined: Y(I) + Y(NA) + Y(ND) = 1. The rate of electron flow donated for photorespiration (JPR) was evaluated using the equation of JPR = 2/3 × [ETRII – 4 (A + Rd)] (; ). Rd was the rate of respiration under illumination and was assumed to be 1 μmol m−2 s−1 as in our previous study ().
Measurements of the Relative Water Content of Leaves
The relative water content of the leaves (RWC) was determined after the stress treatment, following the methods of , as described in , using leaf fresh weight measured just after the stress treatment, leaf weight after overnight immersion in deionized water at 4°C, and leaf dry weight.
Biochemical Assays
Leaves were collected after the measurement of photosynthesis, frozen using liquid nitrogen, and kept at −80°C until use. Total leaf-N, chlorophyll, and Rubisco content were determined as described in . Briefly, total leaf-N content was determined using Nessler’s reagent after Kjeldahl digestion. Arnon’s method () was used for chlorophyll determination. Rubisco content was determined by formamide extraction of Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250-stained bands corresponding to the large and small subunits of Rubisco separated by SDS-PAGE (), except that bovine serum albumin was used to prepare the calibration curves.
Statistical Analysis
Three to five biological replicates were analyzed using the Tukey-Kramer’s HSD test using JMP 14 (SAS Institute Japan, Tokyo, Japan). The Pearson correlation coefficients of the measured parameters were calculated using Microsoft Excel 2013.
Results
Table 1 shows the amounts of Rubisco protein, chlorophyll, and total leaf-N in leaves of the PEG-untreated wild-type, RBCS-sense, and RBCS-antisense plants. The amounts of Rubisco in RBCS-sense and RBCS-antisense plants were 120% and 43%, respectively, of the levels in the wild-type plants. The amount of chlorophyll in the RBCS-sense plants tended to be slightly lower than that in wild-type plants, whereas the amount of total leaf-N was not different. In RBCS-antisense plants, the amounts of chlorophyll and total leaf-N were lower than those in wild-type plants. Such trend was also observed previously (; ; ). The magnitude of these changes was smaller than that in the amount of Rubisco. Thus, the amounts of Rubisco were greatly affected by genetic manipulation.
Table 1
| Rubisco (g m−2) | Chlorophyll (mmol m−2) | Total leaf-N (mmol m−2) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild-type | 3.45 ± 0.13B (100) | 0.78 ± 0.04A | 142.3 ± 5.2A |
| RBCS-sense | 4.13 ± 0.23A (120) | 0.71 ± 0.03AB | 140.9 ± 4.6A |
| RBCS-antisense | 1.47 ± 0.03C (43) | 0.63 ± 0.02B | 104.2 ± 1.9B |
Amounts of Rubisco protein, chlorophyll, and total leaf-nitrogen in the uppermost, fully expanded leaves in wild-type, RBCS-sense, and RBCS-antisense rice plants.
The relative amount of Rubisco when the wild-type level was defined as 100 is shown in parentheses. Data are presented as means ± SE (n = 4). Statistical analysis was carried out using ANOVA followed by the Tukey–Kramer’s test. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p < 0.05).
The culture solutions containing PEG at concentrations of 16 and 20% (w/v) were used to impose osmotic stress to the plants. We have previously observed that values of the relative water content of leaves of wild-type rice plants only marginally decreased under these PEG treatments (). In the present study, the relative water content of leaves was not significantly affected by the PEG treatments, and did not significantly differ among genotypes (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Effects of the PEG treatments on the fitness of the photosynthetic system were evaluated using Fv/Fm and Pm, which are the indices of the photoinhibition of PSII and PSI, respectively. It has been previously shown that Fv/Fm and Pm were not affected under these PEG treatments in wild-type rice plants. In the PEG-untreated plants, there were no differences in Fv/Fm and Pm between wild-type and RBCS-sense plants (Figure 2). There was no statistical difference between wild-type plants and RBCS-antisense plants, although Fv/Fm and Pm in the latter tended to be marginally lower. Similar trend has been observed in RBCS-antisense plants previously (). Neither Fv/Fm nor Pm changed in the PEG-treated wild-type and RBCS-sense plants, indicating that these genotypes did not suffer from the photoinhibition of PSII or PSI. In contrast, Fv/Fm substantially decreased to 0.59 in the 20% PEG-treated RBCS-antisense plants (Figure 2A). Pm in the 16% PEG-treated plants decreased to 78% of the level of the PEG-untreated RBCS-antisense plants, and further decreased to 51% in the 20% PEG-treated plants (Figure 2B). These results indicate that PSI and both PSII and PSI underwent photoinhibition in RBCS-antisense plants under the 16%- and 20%-PEG treatments, respectively. It is also indicated that PSI in RBCS-antisense plants was more sensitive to the PEG treatments than PSII.
Figure 2
Changes in leaf gas-exchange parameters were examined (Figure 3). In all genotypes, A, stomatal conductance (gs), and intercellular CO2 partial pressure (pCi) tended to decrease in the PEG-treated plants. Although the relative water content in leaves was not affected (Figure 1), the PEG treatment was shown to lead to partial stomatal closure and concomitant changes in the leaf gas-exchange parameters. In wild-type plants, A in the PEG-treated plants decreased to 41–53% of the levels in the PEG-untreated control plants (Figure 3A). Similar trends were observed in gs. The values of pCi decreased by more than 30 ppm in the PEG-treated wild-type plants. The decreases in pCi were not as much as the decrease in both A and gs (Figure 2C; ). The values of A, gs, and pCi in RBCS-sense plants were not largely different from those in wild-type plants irrespective of (PEG) in the culture solutions, although slight decreases in gs or pCi were observed in some cases (Figures 3A–C). In contrast, A in RBCS-antisense plants was lower than in other genotypes (Figure 3A). When not treated with PEG, A was 41% that of the wild-type level, corresponding to the magnitude of decreases in the amount of Rubisco (Table 1). Decreases in A were primarily accounted for by decreases in Rubisco content as observed in our previous studies (; ; ; ). Therefore, it was unlikely that RBCS-antisense plants were suffering from PSII photoinhibition that affected A despite of decreases in chlorophyll content and marginal decreases in Fv/Fm (Table 1 and Figure 2). Although the level of gs was lower than that in the wild-type plants (Figure 3B), pCi was higher by 44 ppm owing to the greatly decreased A (Figure 3C). In the 16% and 20% PEG-treated RBCS-antisense plants, the values of A were 76% and 28%, respectively, that of the PEG-untreated RBCS-antisense plants. These values were 59% and 28% of those in the wild-type plants treated with the same (PEG), respectively. As gs decreased in the PEG-treated RBCS-antisense plants (Figure 3B), the values of pCi decreased by 12 and 58 ppm in the 16% and 20% PEG-treated plants, respectively. The pCi in the PEG-treated RBCS-antisense plants was still higher than that in the wild-type plants treated with the same (PEG) (Figure 3C).
Figure 3
The consumption of electrons by photorespiration, JPR, was calculated from A and ETRII (; ). The values of JPR in the PEG-untreated wild-type plants and RBCS-sense plants were similar and did not change when treated by PEG (Figure 4A). In these genotypes, ratios of JPR to ETRII were about 0.35 when not treated with PEG and tended to increase to 0.42–0.46 when treated with PEG (Figure 4B), indicating that the rate of consumption of electrons by photorespiration increased. JPR/ETRII was less than 0.5, showing that CO2 assimilation acted as a relatively greater electron sink, probably because stomata were still partially open and pCi was not greatly decreased under the present experimental conditions (Figures 3B, C). JPR in RBCS-antisense plants was 41% of that in wild-type plants when not treated with PEG (Figure 4A). The magnitude of decreases in JPR was similar to that in the amount of Rubisco (Table 1), as observed in the case of A (Figure 3A). JPR further decreased in the 16% and 20% PEG treated RBCS-antisense plants. The values of JPR in these plants corresponded to 34% and 20% of those in the wild-type plants treated with the same (PEG), respectively. These results show that the consumption of electrons by photorespiration and CO2 assimilation was greatly restricted owing to the decreased Rubisco content in RBCS-antisense plants. Ratios of JPR to ETRII in RBCS-antisense plants were similar to those in wild-type plants when not treated with PEG (Figure 4B). In contrast to other genotypes, ratios of JPR to ETRII in RBCS-antisense plants were relatively unchanged when treated with PEG, showing that the rate of consumption of electrons by photorespiration did not change.
Figure 4
Changes in the photochemistry of PSII were examined in response to the PEG treatments. In wild-type plants, Y(II) decreased slightly and gradually as the (PEG) in the culture solution increased (Figure 5A). The magnitude of the decreases was smaller than that in A (Figure 3A). Slight decreases in Y(NO), which is an index for the dissipation of light energy in a non-regulated manner (
Figure 5

Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters after water stress treatment in transgenic rice plants with an increased (RBCS-sense) or decreased (RBCS-antisense) Rubisco content. Wild-type plants were used as a control. Sixty days after germination, hydroponically grown plants were water-stressed using culture solutions containing PEG at 0, 16, and 20% (w/v) for 2 d under an irradiance of 400–500 μmol photon m−2 s−1 and day/night air-temperatures of 27/22°C. Y(II) (A), Y(NPQ) (B), Y(NO) (C), and 1−qL(D) were measured under the conditions of an actinic light intensity of 1,200 μmol photon m−2 s−1, an ambient CO2 partial pressure of 40 Pa, leaf temperature of 27°C, and relative humidity of 60–70%. Data are presented as means ± SE (n = 4–5). Statistical analysis was carried out using ANOVA followed by the Tukey–Kramer’s test. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p < 0.05).
Changes in the photochemistry of PSI were examined simultaneously with those of PSII. In wild-type plants, Y(I) tended to marginally decrease in the PEG-treated plants, while slight decreases were also observed in Y(NA) (Figures 6A, C). These changes were reflected in increases in Y(ND) (Figure 6B), showing that the oxidation of P700 was stimulated by the PEG treatments. In RBCS-sense plants, the values of these parameters and their responses to the PEG treatments were similar to those in wild-type plants (Figures 6A–C). In RBCS-antisense plants, Y(I) and Y(NA) were lower than those in wild-type plants when not treated with PEG (Figures 6A, C). These changes were reflected in increases in Y(ND), being 2.0-fold higher than the level in wild-type plants (Figure 6B). Thus, the oxidation of P700 was stimulated in RBCS-antisense plants without the PEG treatments in the present study, although such a phenomenon was not observed in the previous study (
Figure 6

Redox state of P700 after water stress treatment in transgenic rice plants with an increased (RBCS-sense) or decreased (RBCS-antisense) Rubisco content. Wild-type plants were used as a control. Sixty days after germination, hydroponically grown plants were water-stressed using culture solutions containing PEG at 0, 16, and 20% (w/v) for 2 d under an irradiance of 400–500 μmol photon m−2 s−1 and day/night air-temperatures of 27/22°C. Y(I) (A), Y(ND) (B), and Y(NA) (C) were measured under the conditions of an actinic light intensity of 1200 μmol photon m−2 s−1, an ambient CO2 partial pressure of 40 Pa, leaf temperature of 27°C, and relative humidity of 60–70%. Data are presented as means ± SE (n = 4–5). Statistical analysis was carried out using ANOVA followed by the Tukey–Kramer’s test. Columns with the same letter are not significantly different (p < 0.05).
Relationships between the parameters of the PET reactions were analyzed (Table 2). Data obtained with different genotypes were analyzed together. The mutual relationships between the successive PET reactions were as follows: Y(II) was strongly, negatively correlated with 1−qL and Y(NPQ); 1−qL was strongly, negatively correlated with Y(I), which in turn was strongly, negatively correlated with Y(ND). 1−qL was strongly correlated with these parameters. These results are consistent with those in osmotic-stressed rice plants under normal and high temperatures (
Table 2
| Y(NPQ) | Y(NO) | 1-qL | Y(I) | Y(ND) | Y(NA) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y(II) | −0.869*** | −0.055 | −0.830*** | 0.893*** | −0.967*** | 0.831*** |
| Y(NPQ) | −0.446** | 0.534*** | −0.644** | 0.847*** | −0.843*** | |
| Y(NO) | 0.424** | −0.316* | 0.040 | 0.196 | ||
| 1-qL | −0.876*** | 0.830*** | −0.624*** | |||
| Y(I) | −0.865*** | 0.577*** | ||||
| Y(ND) | −0.909*** |
Pearson correlation coefficients among the parameters measured in the present study.
Data obtained under different conditions of air temperature were analyzed together. *, **, and *** denote statistical significance at p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively.
The properties in leaf gas-exchange and the photochemistry of PSII and PSI in the PEG-untreated RBCS-sense and RBCS-antisense plants, and the PEG-treatment response of wild-type plants were basically consistent with those observed in our previous studies (
Discussion
Photorespiration Coupled With CO2 Assimilation Plays a Crucial Role in the Protection of PSI From Photoinhibition Under PEG-Induced Moderate Osmotic Stress
In the present study, we examined the role of photorespiration coupled with CO2 assimilation in the protection of PSI from PEG-induced osmotic stress using Rubisco-transgenic rice plants. The PEG treatments did not significantly affect the relative water content of leaves in all genotypes (Figure 1), but substantially decreased gs (Figure 3B). Stomatal closure is the earliest drought-stress response and was reported to be observed even when water status of plants was unaffected by withdrawal of water (
To examine whether photorespiration contributes the consumption of excess light energy under osmotic stress conditions, elevated CO2 condition might be useful as it suppresses photorespiration. However, in the case of RBCS-antisense plants, decrease in Rubisco content affect both CO2 assimilation and photorespiration. A was shown to be limited by Rubisco under elevated CO2 conditions where A is not limited by Rubisco in wild-type plants (
In contrast, there were no large differences between wild-type and RBCS-sense plants in terms of the activities of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation, osmotic-stress tolerance, and the photochemistry of PSII and PSI (Figures 2–6). These results are consistent with those in our previous study, in which these genotypes were exposed to the combination of high irradiance and CO2-compensated conditions (
Photorespiration Is Possibly Inhibited in RBCS-Antisense Plants Under PEG-Induced Osmotic Stress
It has previously been observed that the absolute and/or relative rates of energy consumption by photorespiration increased under drought or osmotic stress in a number of plant species, including rice (
P700 Oxidation Is Stimulated in Response to PEG-Induced Osmotic Stress Even When the Activities of Photorespiration and CO2 Assimilation Are Restricted
It has been reported that the PET reactions responded to drought or osmotic stress in a manner that limits the electron flow toward PSI, leading to P700 oxidation (
Lumenal acidification is thought to be one of the regulatory factors for the drought-stress responses of the PET reactions as it induces NPQ at PSII (
In the present study, some results were different from those observed in our previous studies. P700 oxidation was not stimulated in RBCS-antisense plants in the absence of osmotic stress (
P700 Oxidation Is Not Sufficient for the Protection of P700 in RBCS-Antisense Plants
We have previously reported that PSI suffered from photoinhibition even when P700 was highly oxidized under osmotic stress in rice (
Conclusion
In the present study, it is shown that antisense suppression of Rubisco content led to decreases in energy consumption by photorespiration coupled with CO2 assimilation under PEG-induced osmotic stress in rice plants, leading to the photoinhibition of PSI and PSII. These results clearly indicate that photorespiration coupled with CO2 assimilation plays a crucial role in the protection of PSI from photoinhibition caused by osmotic stress. As PSI was shown to be more sensitive to osmotic stress, photorespiration might compensate for such weakness in PSI. The PET reactions responded to osmotic stress and oxidized P700 in RBCS-antisense plants and in the other genotypes. Lumenal acidification and/or the redox state of the plastoquinone pool might primarily regulate the PET reactions under osmotic stress even if the activities of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation were restricted. It is shown again that P700 oxidation was not sufficient for the protection of P700 against osmotic stress. ROS unavoidably generated in PSI might damage PSI even if P700 oxidation was stimulated. Overproduction of Rubisco, in contrast, did not alter the activities of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation under osmotic stress. As a result, the photochemistry of PSII and PSI were not altered. These results suggest that further modifications of the metabolism of photorespiration and CO2 assimilation is necessary to improve drought or osmotic stress tolerance and photosynthesis.
Funding
This study was supported by the Core Research for Environmental Science and Technology (Scientific Research Grant No. AL65D21010 to CM) and Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 18H02111 to YS and No. 16H06379 to AM).
Statements
Data availability statement
All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/supplementary material.
Author contributions
YS conceived the experimental design. SW performed the experiments. SW and YS analyzed the data. SW and YS wrote the manuscript. SW, CM, AM, and YS edited the manuscript.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that this research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Abbreviations
A, the rate of CO2 assimilation; ETRII, the rate of electron trasnport; gs, stomatal conductance; JPR, the rate of electron flow donated for photorespiration; NPQ, non-photochemical quenching; P700, the reaction center chlorophyll of photosystem I; pCi, an intercellular CO2 partial pressure PEG, poly (ethylene glycol); PET, photosynthetic electron transport; PSII, photosystem II; PSI, photosystem I; QA, the primary quinone electron acceptor of photosystem II; 1–qL, the fraction of photosystem II centers in closed states; Rd, the rate of respiration under illumination; ROS, reactive oxygen species; Y(II), the quantum efficiency of photosystem II; Y(NO), the quantum yield of non-regulated and non-photochemical energy dissipation at photosystem II; Y(NPQ), the quantum yield of non-photochemical quenching at photosystem II; Y(I), the quantum efficiency of photosystem I; Y(NA), the quantum yield of the acceptor side limitation of photosystem I; Y(ND), the quantum yield of the donor side limitation of photosystem I.
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Summary
Keywords
osmotic stress, Rubisco, photorespiration, CO2 assimilation, photosystem I, photosystem II, rice
Citation
Wada S, Miyake C, Makino A and Suzuki Y (2020) Photorespiration Coupled With CO2 Assimilation Protects Photosystem I From Photoinhibition Under Moderate Poly(Ethylene Glycol)-Induced Osmotic Stress in Rice. Front. Plant Sci. 11:1121. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01121
Received
01 October 2019
Accepted
07 July 2020
Published
24 July 2020
Volume
11 - 2020
Edited by
Adriano Nunes-Nesi, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil
Reviewed by
Xenie Johnson, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), France; Xinguang Zhu, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
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© 2020 Wada, Miyake, Makino and Suzuki.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Yuji Suzuki, ysuzuki@iwate-u.ac.jp
This article was submitted to Plant Physiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science
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