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Adaptions of photosynthesis in sun and shade in populations of some Afromontane lichens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2022

Kwanele Goodman Wandile Mkhize ,
Farida Minibayeva  and
Richard Peter Beckett Open the ORCID record for Richard Peter Beckett [Opens in a new window]
Kwanele Goodman Wandile Mkhize
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa
Farida Minibayeva
Affiliation:
Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Federal Research Center ‘Kazan Scientific Center of RAS’, P.O. Box 261, Kazan 420111, Russia
Richard Peter Beckett*
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa Open Lab ‘Biomarker’, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kremlevskaya str. 18, 420008 Kazan, Russia
*
Author for correspondence: Richard Peter Beckett. E-mail: rpbeckett@gmail.com
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Abstract

Photosynthetic organisms have evolved a great variety of mechanisms to optimize their use of sunlight. Some of the clearest examples of adaptations can be seen by comparing photosynthesis in different species and in different individuals of the same species that grow under high and low light levels. While the adaptations of sun and shade higher plants have been relatively well studied, much less information is available on the photobionts of lichenized Ascomycetes. An important adaptation that can protect photosynthetic organisms from the potentially harmful effects of excess light is non-photochemical quenching (NPQ); NPQ can dissipate unused light energy as heat. Here we used chlorophyll fluorescence to compare the induction and relaxation of NPQ and the induction of electron transport (rETR) in collections of the same lichen species from exposed and from more shaded locations. All species have trebouxioid photobionts and normally grow in more exposed microhabitats but can also be readily collected from more shaded locations. Shade forms display generally higher NPQ, presumably to protect lichens from occasional rapid increases in light that occur during sunflecks. Furthermore, the NPQ of shade forms relaxes quickly when light levels are reduced, presumably to ensure efficient photosynthesis after a sunfleck has passed. The maximal relative electron transport rate is lower in shade than sun collections, probably reflecting a downregulation of photosynthetic capacity to reduce energy costs. We also compared collections of pale and melanized thalli from three species of shade lichens with Symbiochloris as their photobiont. Interestingly, NPQ in melanized thalli from slightly more exposed microhabitats induced and relaxed in a way that resembled shade rather than sun forms of the trebouxioid lichens. This might suggest that in some locations melanization induced during a temporary period of high light may be excessive and could potentially reduce photosynthesis later in the growing season. Taken together, the results suggest that lichen photobionts can flexibly adjust the amount and type of NPQ, and their levels of rETR in response to light availability.

Keywords

chlorophyll fluorescencephotoprotectionphotosynthesissunfleckxanthophyll cycle
Type
Standard Paper
Information
The Lichenologist , Volume 54 , Special Issue 5: African Lichenology , September 2022 , pp. 319 - 329
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Lichen Society

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