Photoinhibition, carotenoid composition and the co-regulation of photochemical and non-photochemical quenching in neotropical savanna trees

Plants in the neotropical savannas of central Brazil are exposed to high irradiances, high air temperatures and low relative humidities. These conditions impose a selection pressure on plants for strong stomatal regulation of transpiration to maintain water balance. Diurnal adjustments of non-photochemical energy dissipation in photosystem II (PSII) provide a dynamic mechanism to reduce the risk of photoinhibitory damage during the middle of the day when irradiances and leaf temperatures are high and partial closure of the stomata results in considerable reductions in internal CO2 concentration. At the end of the dry season, we measured diurnal changes in gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and carotenoid composition in two savanna tree species differing in photosynthetic capacity and in the duration and extent of the midday depression of photosynthesis. Non-photochemical quenching and its quantum yield were tightly correlated with zeaxanthin concentrations on a total chlorophyll basis, indicating that the reversible de-epoxidation of violaxanthin to antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin within the xanthophyll cycle plays a key role in the regulation of thermal energy dissipation. In both cases, a single linear relationship fitted both species. Although efficient regulation of photochemical and non-photochemical quenching and adjustments in the partitioning of electron flow between assimilative and non-assimilative processes were operating, these trees could not fully cope with the rapid increase in irradiance after sunrise, suggesting high vulnerability to photoinhibitory damage in the morning. However, both species were able to recover quickly. The effects of photoinhibitory quenching were largely reversed by midday, and zeaxanthin rapidly converted back to violaxanthin as irradiance decreased in late afternoon, resulting in the maximal quantum yield of PSII of around 0.8 just before sunrise.