Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Induction in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum Can Be Estimated by Non-Photochemical Quenching upon Actinic Illumination During the Dark Period

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, which switches the mode of photosynthesis from C(3) to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) upon high salt stress, was shown here to exhibit diurnal changes in not only the CO(2) fixation pathway but also Chl fluorescence parameters under CAM-induced conditions. We conducted comprehensive time course measurements of M. crystallinum leaf Chl fluorescence using the same leaf throughout the CAM induction period. By doing so, we were able to distinguish the effect of CAM induction from that of photoinhibition and avoid the possible effects of differences in foliar age. We found that the diurnal change in the status of electron transfer could be ascribed to the formation of a proton gradient across thylakoid membranes presumably resulting from diurnal changes in the ATP/ADP ratio reported earlier. The electron transport by actinic illumination thus became limited at the step of plastoquinol oxidation by the Cyt b(6)/f complex in the ‘night’ period upon CAM induction, resulting in high levels of non-photochemical quenching. The actinically induced non-photochemical quenching in the ‘night’ period correlated well with the degree of CAM induction. Chl fluorescence parameters, such as NPQ or qN, could be used as a simple indexing system for the CAM induction.