Providing an additional electron sink by the introduction of cyanobacterial flavodiirons enhances the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana in varying light

Abstract

The ability of plants to maintain photosynthesis in a dynamically changing environment is of central importance for their growth. As their photosynthetic machinery typically cannot adapt rapidly to fluctuations in the intensity of radiation, the level of photosynthetic efficiency is not always optimal. Cyanobacteria, algae, non-vascular plants (mosses and liverworts) and gymnosperms all produce flavodiirons (Flvs), a class of proteins not represented in the angiosperms; these proteins act to mitigate the photoinhibition of photosystem I. Here, genes specifying two cyanobacterial Flvs have been expressed in the chloroplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana in an attempt to improve the robustness of Photosystem I (PSI). The expression of Flv1 and Flv3 together shown to enhance the efficiency of the utilization of light and to boost the plant’s capacity to accumulate biomass. Based on an assessment of the chlorophyll fluorescence in the transgenic plants, the implication was that photosynthetic activity (including electron transport flow and non-photochemical quenching during a dark-to-light transition) was initiated earlier in the transgenic than in wild type plants. The improved photosynthetic performance of the transgenics was accompanied by an increased production of ATP, an acceleration of carbohydrate metabolism and a more pronounced partitioning of sucrose into starch. The indications are that Flvs are able to establish an efficient electron sink downstream of PSI, thereby ensuring that the photosynthetic electron transport chain remains in a more oxidized state. The expression of Flvs in a plant acts to both protect photosynthesis and to control the ATP/NADPH ratio; together, their presence is beneficial for the plant’s growth potential.