Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2024, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (3): 287-305.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2022.0409  cstr: 32100.14.cjpe.2022.0409

Special Issue: 光合作用

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A review on light response models of electron transport rates of plant

WANG Fu-Biao, YE Zi-Piao*()   

  1. The Institute of Biophysics, College of Math and Physics, Jinggangshan University, Ji’an, Jiangxi 343009, China
  • Received:2022-10-14 Accepted:2023-06-06 Online:2024-03-20 Published:2024-04-24
  • Contact: *(yezp@jgsu.edu.cn)
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(31960054);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32260063)

Abstract:

The light response curve of electron transport rate is an important tool to investigate plant physiology and ecology. It can provide a theoretical basis for quantifying the absorption and transmission of light energy in primary reaction. In this paper, the mathematical characteristics, the advantages, and the potential weaknesses in practical application and research trends of the light response models of electron transport rate are reviewed and discussed. The primary reaction, which includes absorption of light energy, excitation and de-excitation of photosynthetic pigment molecules (including photochemical reaction, fluorescence emission and heat dissipation), and electron transport rate stemming from charge separation in the photosystem II (PSII) reaction center caused by exciton resonance, is consisted by a series of complex physical and biochemical reactions. The classical and semi-mechanistic models of light response curve of electron transport rate are difficult to explain the dynamic down-regulation of PSII, light adaptation and light protection of algae and higher plant, because they did not involve or only partly involved the primary reaction process. However, the mechanism model takes into account the important role of the physical parameters of the photosynthetic pigment molecule (e.g., the eign-absorption cross-section of light energy (σik), the average life-time of the molecule in the lowest excited state (τmin), the energy level degeneracy of the molecule and the number of photosynthetic pigment molecules in the excited state (Nk)) in the whole primary reaction process. This model can not only obtain the maximum electron transfer rate and its corresponding saturation light intensity of algae and higher plant, but also get some important physical parameters such as σik and τmin. Meanwhile, it also can obtain the laws about light-response of the effective light energy absorption cross-section ($\sigma_{\mathrm{ik}}^{\prime}$) and of Nk. It may be the developmental direction of the mechanism model of electron transport rate response to light in the future when the mechanistic model was coupled with some environmental factors (e.g., temperature and CO2 concentration) and the relationship between light intensity and $\sigma_{\mathrm{ik}}^{\prime}$ and Nk were determined.

Key words: electron transport rate, primary reaction, classical model, semi-mechanistic model, mechanistic model