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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 35(7)

Photoprotection of PSII in Hawaiian lobeliads from diverse light environments

Rebecca A. Montgomery A D , Guillermo Goldstein B and Thomas J. Givnish C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.

B Department of Biology, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33124, USA.

C Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email: rebeccam@umn.edu

Functional Plant Biology 35(7) 595-605 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP08031
Submitted: 20 February 2008  Accepted: 7 July 2008   Published: 21 August 2008

Abstract

Excess irradiance can reduce the quantum yield of photosynthesis via photoprotective energy dissipation, inactivation or downregulation of PSII. We examined variation in photoprotection as part of a study of adaptive radiation in photosynthetic light responses by Hawaiian lobeliads. We measured the maximum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and recovery of Fv/Fm after high light stress in field populations of 11 lobeliad species and in four species growing under common-garden greenhouse conditions. Species showed no difference in Fv/Fm (0.82 ± 0.02 (mean ± s.e.)) or in their ability to recover from light stress under field conditions. Average recovery was 74 ± 1.4% within 1 h of removal of the stress suggesting that all species maintain the ability to recover from high light stress, at least in the short-term. In contrast, the results from the common-garden indicate that long-term exposure to high irradiance and associated higher temperatures can cause a sustained reduction in PSII function. Species showed decreased Fv/Fm and percentage recovery as treatment irradiance increased. Fv/Fm and percentage recovery were positively related to native habitat PFD across species, suggesting that there has been a diversification in high light tolerance, with species from sunnier environments better able to avoid sustained declines in PSII function.

Additional keywords: adaptive radiation, chlorophyll fluorescence, common garden, non-photochemical quenching, photochemical reflectance index, xanthophyll-cycle pigments.


Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the research support provided by grant IBN-9904366 from the Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology Program of the US National Science Foundation. We thank Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, the Koke’e Natural History Museum, Limahuli Garden and the University of Hawai’i Agricultural Experiment Station in Volcano for important logistical assistance. Ken Wood, Linda Pratt and Kate Reinard provided invaluable aid in locating populations of several rare species. We are deeply grateful to Wayne Souza of Kaua’i State Parks, Edwin Pettys of the Kaua’i Division of Forestry and Wildlife, David Foote and Linda Pratt of USGS Biological Resources Division, Betsy Gagné, Randy Kennedy, Bill Stormont and Jon Giffen of Hawai’i Natural Areas Reserves, Susan Cordell and Julie Denslow of USDA Forest Service and Sterling Keeley of the University of Hawai’i for their support in helping us obtain research permits and access to research facilities. Mahalo to Aubrey Kelly, Leilani Durand, Nicole Kuamo’o and Ken Wood for help and camaraderie in the field and for their commitment in helping to achieve the objectives of this research. We thank William Adams for his comments on a draft of this manuscript.


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