Variação espacial da fotossíntese e de mecanismos de fotoproteção no cafeeiro (Coffea arabica L.)

• Autor(a) principal: Dias, Paulo Cesar
• Data de Publicação: 2006
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/4287
• topic: Café; Adaptações morfológicas; Adaptações fisiológicas; Tolerância à seca; Fotossíntese; Coffea arabica; Coffee; Morphological adaptations; Physiological adaptatations; Drought tolerance; Photosynthesis; Coffea arabica; CNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::BOTANICA::FISIOLOGIA VEGETAL

This study aimed to identify potential photoprotective mechanisms and how they could be spatially and diurnally adjusted. It was conducted in an arabica coffee tree plantation (northsouth-oriented hedgerows) in Viçosa, Southeastern Brazil. Gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and antioxidant system were examined throughout. Evaluations were performed in different canopy positions in August 2005 (dry, cold season with high insolation) when the net photosynthetic rate (A) of coffee tree is very low. This low A largely resulted from nonstomatal limitations. This, associated with an elevated interception of solar radiation, led to a discrete chronic photoinhibition of photosynthesis at noon, particularly in west-faced leaves. In a general way, decreased quantum yield of photosystem II (FPSII) paralleled an increased non-photochemical quenching, indicating a rise in heat dissipation. Apparent electron transport rate also rose during afternoon in west-faced leaves, that was largely a consequence from increased irradiance interception by those leaves, although decreases in both FPSII and photochemical quenching coefficient were observed. As a result, a higher excitation pressure should have occurred in west-faced leaves, thus leading to an increased fraction of irradiance neither used in photochemistry nor dissipated thermally. Regardless of their positions, coffee leaves showed similar ability for energy dissipation into photochemical and nonphotochemical processes. This suggests that the plant might dissipate satisfactorily the excess of absorbed light, i.e. the coffee tree might plastically adjust its photosynthetic machinery to changing irradiance. Steeper leaf angles were related to greater irradiance interception in the upper stratum leaves, particularly in the west side. Chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations were higher in lower stratum leaves. There was no change in chlorophyll a/b ratio, regardless of the treatments. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) generally were similar among different sampled leaves. However, a greater SOD activity was found in upper stratum leaves that could be associated with a larger hydrogen peroxide concentration in those leaves. Little, if any, differences in the activities of SOD, CAT, APX and glutathione peroxidase were observed in paraquat-treated leaves. A stronger decrease in the maximum efficiency of photosystem II was registered in paraquattreated west-faced leaves, similarly to what occurred in the field. Despite west-faced leaves being naturally submitted to a high-light stress, malondialdehyde accumulated in a similar way as in the leaves from other canopy positions. Since the activity of antioxidant enzymes was similar irrespective of leaf position, some other photoprotecting systems should also be of utmost importance for protection of the photosynthetic machinery, particularly in west-faced leaves when exposed to bright irradiance.