Photosynthetic acclimation to fluctuating light and roles of far-red light in regulationg the proton motive force in land plants

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K16162
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 44030:Plant molecular biology and physiology-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Kono Masaru 東京大学, 大学院理学系研究科(理学部), 特任助教 (40838265)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 光合成 / 陸上植物 / 変動光 / 遠赤色光 / プロトン駆動力

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Sunlight contains far-red light (FR, 700 - 800 nm) as well as visible light (400 - 700 nm). The irradiance also changes dynamically with time in the field. Plants utilize visible light to drive photosynthesis. When applied solely, FR cannot drive photosynthesis. It is well known that FR drives PSI photochemistry, but its effects on photosynthetic performance has received little attention. When leaves of land plants were irradiated with fluctuating light (FL), addition of FR accelerated the proton motive force across the photosynthetic membrane in the chloroplasts, resulted in the significant enhancement of photosynthesis. FR exerts beneficial effects on photosynthesis in FL. My work not only showed the importance of FR under FL conditions but also provided several seeds for future study.

Free Research Field

植物生態生理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで光合成分野では無視されてきた遠赤色光が実は光合成の調節に欠かせないという知見は、変動光応答に関与する因子を植物が最大限かつ適切に利用する環境要因として、遠赤色光が必須であることを意味している。光合成における遠赤色光の意義の解明は、変動光分野だけでなく、光合成研究における先導的な結果を与えるきっかけになるはずである。また、野外植物が自然光下で行う真の光環境応答を知る上での手がかりになる重要な研究として位置付けられる。