Ecophysiology of photosynthesis in bryophytes: major roles for oxygen photoreduction and non-photochemical quenching?

CO(2) fixation in mosses saturates at moderate irradiances. Relative electron transport rate (RETR) inferred from chlorophyll fluorescence saturates at similar irradiance in shade species (e.g. Plagiomnium undulatum, Trichocolea tomentella), but many species of unshaded habitats (e.g. Andreaea rothii, Schistidium apocarpum, Sphagnum spp. and Frullania dilatata) show non-saturating RETR at high irradiance, with high non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). In P. undulatum and S. apocarpum, experiments in different gas mixtures showed O(2) and CO(2) as interchangeable electron sinks. Nitrogen + saturating CO(2) gave high RETR and depressed NPQ. In S. apocarpum, glycolaldehyde (inhibiting photosynthesis and photorespiration) depressed RETR in air more at low than at high irradiance; in CO(2) -free air RETR was maintained at all irradiances. Non-saturating electron flow was not suppressed in ambient CO(2) with 1% O(2) . The results indicate high capacity for oxygen photoreduction when CO(2) assimilation is limited. Non-saturating light-dependent H(2) O(2) production, insensitive to glycolaldehyde, suggests that electron transport is supported by oxygen photoreduction, perhaps via the Mehler-peroxidase reaction. Consistent with this, mosses were highly tolerant to paraquat, which generates superoxide at photosystem I (PSI). Protection against excess excitation energy in mosses involves high capacity for photosynthetic electron transport to oxygen and high NPQ, activated at high irradiance, alongside high reactive oxygen species (ROS) tolerance.