Photosynthetic Light Utilization Efficiency, Photosystem II Heterogeneity, and Fluorescence Quenching in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii during the Induction of the CO(2)-Concentrating Mechanism.

The photosynthetic light-response curve, the relative amounts of the different photosystem II (PSII) units, and fluorescence quenching were altered in an adaptive manner when CO(2)-enriched wild-type Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells were transferred to low levels of CO(2). This treatment is known to result in the induction of an energy-dependent CO(2)-concentrating mechanism (CCM) that increases the internal inorganic carbon concentration and thus the photosynthetic CO(2) utilization efficiency. After 3 to 6 h of low inorganic carbon treatment, several changes in the photosynthetic energy-transducing reactions appeared and proceeded for about 12 h. After this time, the fluorescence parameter variable/maximal fluorescence yield and the amounts of both PSIIalpha and PSIIbeta (secondary quinone electron acceptor of PSII-reducing) centers had decreased, whereas the amount of PSIIbeta (secondary quinone electron acceptor of PSII-nonreducing) centers had increased. The yield of noncyclic electron transport also decreased during the induction of the CCM, whereas both photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching of PSII fluorescence increased. Concurrent with these changes, the photosynthetic light-utilization efficiency also decreased significantly, largely attributed to a decline in the curvature parameter theta, the convexity of the photosynthetic light-response curve. Thus, it is concluded that the increased CO(2) utilization efficiency in algal cells possessing the CCM is maintained at the cost of a reduced light utilization efficiency, most probably due to the reduced energy flow through PSII.