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Salt stress inhibits photosystems II and I in cyanobacteria

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Abstract

Recent studies of responses of cyanobacterial cells to salt stress have revealed that the NaCl-induced decline in the photosynthetic activities of photosystems II and I involves rapid and slow changes. The rapid decreases in the activities of both photosystems, which occur within a few minutes, are reversible and are associated with osmotic effects, which induce the efflux of water from the cytosol through water channels and rapidly increase intracellular concentrations of salts. Slower decreases in activity, which occur within hours, are irreversible and are associated with ionic effects that are due to the influx of Na+ and Cl− ions through K+(Na+) channels and, probably, Cl− channels, with resultant dissociation of extrinsic proteins from photosystems. In combination with light stress, salt stress significantly stimulates photoinhibition by inhibiting repair of photodamaged photosystem II. Tolerance of photosystems to salt stress can be enhanced by genetically engineered increases in the unsaturation of fatty acids in membrane lipids and by intracellular synthesis of compatible solutes, such as glucosylglycerol and glycinebetaine. In this review, we summarize recent progress in research on the effects of salt stress on photosynthesis in cyanobacteria.

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Abbreviations

BQ:

1,4-Benzoquinone

CCCP:

Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone

Chl:

Chlorophyll

CSA:

p-Chloromercuriphenyl-sulfonic acid

DCIP:

2,6-Dichlorophenolindophenol

DCMU:

3-(3′,4′-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea

DPC:

Diphenylcarbazide

FCCP:

Carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoro-methoxyphenylhydrazone

GG:

Glucosylglycerol

MV:

Methylviologen

PSII:

Photosystem II

PSI:

Photosystem I

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported, in part, by the Cooperative Research Program on Stress-Tolerant Plants of the National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan, and by grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Nos. 08-04-00241 and 08-04-91300) and from the Molecular and Cell Biology Programs of the Russian Academy of Sciences (to S.I.A.).

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  1. Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia

    Suleyman I. Allakhverdiev

  2. National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan

    Norio Murata

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Correspondence to Norio Murata.

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Allakhverdiev, S.I., Murata, N. Salt stress inhibits photosystems II and I in cyanobacteria. Photosynth Res 98, 529–539 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-008-9334-x

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