Effect of glutaphen on generation of active oxygen species, photosynthetic electron transport, and the functional activity of photosystem 2 in Chlorella cells

Treatment of chlorella green algae (Chlorella sp.) for 2 h in the dark with the photodynamic herbicide glutaphen (GTP), consisting of 0.3 mM 1,10-phenanthroline and 0.6 mM glutamic acid, followed by illumination leads to efficient generation of active oxygen species (AOS). After 15 min of illumination, AOS accumulation reaches 200% compared with the level in cells of the control culture, then it decreases down to 130% and 115% after 1 day and 3 days of illumination. During the first few days after treatment, we observe inhibition of synthesis of a specific precursor of chlorophyll (Chl): 5-aminolevulinic acid molecules, and then we observe stimulation of the synthesis. The effect of GTP on the photosynthetic activity of chlorella does not depend on the AOS level but rather remains uniform, in contrast to its effect on the Chl biosynthesis system. GTP does not change the efficiency of light harvesting and charge separation at the reaction centers of photosystem (PS) 2, but significantly lowers the functional efficiency of the electron transport chain: the photochemical quenching constants for Chl a fluorescence and the effective quantum yield of photochemical reactions in photosystem 2 decrease. The major mechanism of action for GTP is probably displacement of the secondary quinone acceptor Q_B from its binding site on the D1 protein by the 1,10-phenanthroline, consequent inhibition of electron efflux from Q _A ⁻ and increase in the fraction of Q_B-nonreducing centers of PS 2. The active oxygen species generated in the cells have a photodegradative effect on the Chl biosynthesis system, in particular on its initial steps, and do not involve already formed pigment-protein complexes of PS 2. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 6, pp. 801–806, November–December, 2006.