Antioxidation of Anthocyanins in Photosynthesis Under High Temperature Stress

Chlorophyll fluorescence and antioxidative capability in detached leaves of the wild type Arabidopsis thaliana L.ecotypeLandsberg erecta(Ler)and three mutants deficient in anthocyanins biosynthesis(tt3,tt4,and tt3tt4)were investigatedduring treatment with temperatures ranging 25-45℃.In comparison with the wild type,chlorophyll fluorescence parametersFv/Fm,ΦPSII,electron transport rate(ETR),Fv/Fo and qP in three anthocyanin-deficient mutants showed a more rapidlydecreasing rate when the temperature was over 35℃.Non-photochemical quenching(NPQ)in these mutants was almostcompletely lost at 44℃,whereas the content of heat stable protein dropped and the rate of the membrane leakage increased.Fo-temperature curves were obtained by monitoring Fo levels with gradually elevated temperatures from 22℃ to 72℃ at0.5℃/min.The inflexion temperatures of Fo were 45.8℃ in Ler,45.1℃ in tt3,44.1℃ in tt4 and 42.3℃ in tt3tt4,respectively.The temperatures of maximal Fo in three mutants were 1.9-3.8℃ lower than the wild type plants.Meanwhile,three mutantshad lower activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and ascorbate peroxidase(APX)and an inferior scavenging capabilityto DPPH(1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhy.drazyl)radical under heat stress,and in particular tt3tt4 had the lowest antioxidativepotential.The results of the diaminobenzidine-H2O2histochemical staining showed that H2O2was accumulated in theleaf vein and mesophyll cells of mutants under treatment at 40℃,and it was significantly presented in leaf cells of tt3tt4.The sensitivity of Arabidopsis anthocyanins-deficient mutants to high temperatures has revealed that anthocyanins innormal plants might provide protection from high temperature injury,by enhancing its antioxidative capability under hightemperature stress.