Two patterns of leaf photosynthetic response to irradiance transition from saturating to limiting one in some plant species

Plants often regulate the amount and size of light-harvesting antenna (LHCII) to maximize photosynthesis at low light and avoid photodamage at high light. Gas exchange, 77 K chlorophyll fluorescence, photosystem II (PSII) electron transport as well as LHCII protein were measured in leaves irradiated at different light intensities. After irradiance transition from saturating to limiting one leaf photosynthetic rate in some species such as soybean and rice declined first to a low level, then increased slowly to a stable value (V pattern), while in other species such as wheat and pumpkin it dropped immediately to a stable value (L pattern). Saturating pre-irradiation led to significant declines of both 77 K fluorescence parameter F685/F735 and light-limited PSII electron transport rate in soybean but not in wheat leaves, indicating that some LHCIIs dissociate from PSII in soybean but not in wheat leaves. The L pattern of LHCII-decreased rice mutant and the V pattern of its wild type demonstrate that the V pattern is linked to dissociation/reassociation of some LHCIIs from/to PSII.