Relationship between quenching of variable fluorescence and thermal dissipation in isolated thylakoid membranes: similar terminology and mathematical treatments may be used

Abstract

Simultaneous measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence and thermal emission using photoacoustic spectroscopy have been done in isolated thylakoid membranes to study the relationship between the photochemical quenching of fluorescence (qPF) and energy storage measured in photoacoustic experiments. It is shown that energy storage can be interpreted as the photochemical quenching of a variable component of thermal dissipation termed qPH. The parameters qPF and qPH were similarly sensitive to light intensity as demonstrated by their half-saturation light intensity. However, the nonvariable part of thermal dissipation (Ho) represented a greater proportion of the maximal thermal dissipation yield in comparison with the corresponding non-variable component of fluorescence (Fo) as a result of the thermal energy losses occurring during electron transport. A residual qPH found when qPF was removed indicated the participation of cyclic photosystem I or photosystem II in the measured qPH. The participation of cyclic photosystem I was also suggested by a low constant K, representing the quasi equilibria between (re)oxidized and reduced photosystem II quinone acceptors as determined from the logarithmic plots of the hyperbolic relationship obtained between qPH and light intensity. It is finally concluded that the terminology and mathematical treatments used for fluorescence measurements can also be applied to thermal dissipation.Key words: photosynthesis, thylakoid membranes, thermal dissipation, fluorescence quenching, plastoquinone.