Application for MICROFIBER-PAM

Wavelength-dependent Gradients of Photoinhibition of PS II

An option that the MICROFIBER-PAM offers is the investigation of gradients of photosystem II characteristics within the leaf. For such investigations, the pointed tip of a working fiber (MF-F) is advanced into the leaf tissue by a micromanipulator, and saturation pulse analysis is carried out at defined depths of penetration.

Using this strategy, Terashima and his colleagues have analyzed how strong light of different colors damages photosystem II at various distances from the leaf surface. By measuring the maximum photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II (FV/FM), the authors demonstrated that amplitude as well as leaf gradients of photoinhibition depend on the color of photoinhibitory light.