Transitions in Photosynthetic Parameters of Midvein and Interveinal Regions of Leaves and Their Importance During Leaf Growth and Development

A. Walter; U. Rascher; B. Osmond

doi:10.1055/s-2004-817828

Plant Biology, Table of Contents

Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2004; 6(2): 184-191
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-817828

Original Paper

Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Transitions in Photosynthetic Parameters of Midvein and Interveinal Regions of Leaves and Their Importance During Leaf Growth and Development

A. Walter¹ ^, ² ^, ³ , U. Rascher¹ ^, ³ , B. Osmond¹

¹Biosphere 2 Center, Columbia University, P.O. Box 689, Oracle, AZ 85623, USA
²Present address: Institut für Phytosphäre (ICG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
³Contributed equally to this work

Abstract

The areal development of photosynthetic efficiency and growth patterns in expanding leaves of two different dicotyledonous species - Coccoloba uvifera and Sanchezia nobilis - was investigated by imaging both processes repeatedly over 32 days. Measurements were performed using combined imaging systems for chlorophyll fluorescence and growth, with the same spatial resolution. Significant differences in potential quantum yield of photosynthesis (F_v/F_m), a parameter indicating the functional status of photosystem II, were found between midvein and interveinal tissue. Although base-tip gradients and spatial patchiness were observed in the distribution of relative growth rate, neither midvein nor interveinal tissue showed such patterns in F_v/F_m. In young leaves, F_v/F_m of the midvein was higher than F_v/F_m of interveinal tissue. This difference declined gradually with time, and upon cessation of growth, F_v/F_m of interveinal regions exceeded those of midvein tissue. Images of chlorophyll fluorescence quenching showed that ΔF/F_m′ in the different tissues correlated with F_v/F_m, indicating that, in these uniformly illuminated leaves, transitions in photosynthetic electron transport activity follow those of predawn quantum efficiency. We explore the implications of these observations during leaf development, discuss effects of sucrose delivery from veins to interveinal areas on relative rates of photosynthetic development in these tissues, and propose that the initially higher photosynthetic activity in the midvein compared to the intervein tissues may supply carbohydrates and energy for leaf growth processes.

Key words

Chlorophyll fluorescence - imaging - spatio-temporal dynamics - pattern formation - Coccoloba uvifera - Sanchezia nobilis.

Full Text

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A. Walter

Institut für Phytosphäre (ICG-3)
Forschungszentrum Jülich

Stetternicher Forst

52425 Jülich

Germany

Email: a.walter@fz-juelich.de

Section Editor: M. C. Ball