Photoacclimation in Spathiphyllum

Abstract We studied photoacclimation in Spathiphyllum grown at an irradiance of 40 or 420 μmol/m 2 s (LL or HL, respectively). All parameters studied responded to acclimation. Leaves at LL, in contrast to HL, were thinner and oriented perpendicular to the incident light, had more chlorophyll per g f w, fewer stomata on the upper leaf surface and a reduced layer of mesophyll cells. Their chloroplasts at HL had wider grana with less thylakoids per granum, and better organized photosystems than at LL. PSI and PSII activities per mg chlorophyll ( V max ), and PSI and PSII content (total activity per g f w), were lower at LL than at HL and so was the light requirement for saturation of the PSI or PSII partial photoreactions, suggesting that fewer photosystems with larger antenna size prevail at LL, but many more with smaller antenna size at HL. Analysis of chlorophyll distribution among the thylakoid pigment–protein complexes showed less antenna chlorophyll serving PSII (CPa + LHCP 1  + LHCP 3 ) than that serving PSI (CPIa + CPI + LHCP 2 ) at LL as compared to HL, and thus a lower PSII/PSI ratio at LL, in agreement with the general finding that LL plants, with larger PSII antenna size, have lower PSII/PSI ratio. The increase in PSI antenna size at LL was correlated with the increase in the distribution of chlorophyll in pigment–protein complexes serving PSI, and a very large chlorophyll/protein molar ratio in the isolated CPI complex. On the other hand, the PSII antenna chlorophyll (CPa + LHCP 1  + LHCP 3 ) on a g f w basis, and the chlorophyll a/b ratio remained more or less constant at LL or HL. This may reflect our finding that Spathiphyllum contains mainly the 27 kDa inner LHCII antenna protein, the size of which remains unaffected by photoacclimation. The increase in the distribution of chlorophyll in pigment–protein complexes serving PSII at HL, therefore, reflects the higher population of PSII at HL. Very high PSI activity was found at HL, which we attribute to the highly organized small in size PSI.