Limiting Factors in Photosynthesis

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Abstract
Although there is now some agreement with the view that the supply of photochemical energy may influence photosynthetic rate (P) at high CO2 pressures, it is less clear whether this limitation extends to P at low CO2. This was investigated by measuring P per area as a function of the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) at different levels of photochemical energy supply. Changes in the latter were obtained experimentally by varying the level of irradiance to normal (Fe-sufficient) leaves of Beta vulgaris L. cv F58-554H1, and by varying photosynthetic electron transport capacity using leaves from Fe-deficient and Fe-sufficient plants. P and Ci were determined for attached sugar beet leaves using open flow gas exchange. The results suggest that P/area was colimited by the supply of photochemical energy at very low as well as high values of Ci. Using the procedure developed by Perchorowicz et al. (Plant Physiol 1982 69:1165-1168), we investigated the effect of irradiance on ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) activation. The ratio of initial extractable activity to total inducible RuBPCase activity increased from 0.25 to 0.90 as leaf irradiance increased from 100 to 1500 microeinsteins photosynthetically active radiation per square meter per second. These data suggest that colimitation by photochemical energy supply at low Ci may be mediated via effects on RuBPCase activation.