The Protective Effect of Exogenous Ascorbic Acid on Photosystem Inhibition of Tomato Seedlings Induced by Salt Stress

This study investigated the protective effects of exogenous ascorbic acid (AsA, 0.5 mmol·L ) treatment on salt-induced photosystem inhibition in tomato seedlings under salt stress (NaCl, 100 mmol·L ) conditions with and without the AsA inhibitor lycorine. Salt stress reduced the activities of photosystem II (PSII) and PSI. AsA treatment mitigated inhibition of the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII ( / ), maximal P700 changes ( ), the effective quantum yields of PSII and I [Y(II) and Y(I)], and non-photochemical quenching coefficient ( ) values under salt stress conditions both with and without lycorine. Moreover, AsA restored the balance of excitation energy between two photosystems ( -1) after disruption by salt stress, with or without lycorine. Treatment of the leaves of salt-stressed plants with AsA with or without lycorine increased the proportion of electron flux for photosynthetic carbon reduction [ e(PCR)] while decreasing the O -dependent alternative electron flux [ a(O -dependent)]. AsA with or without lycorine further resulted in increases in the quantum yield of cyclic electron flow (CEF) around PSI [Y(CEF)] while increasing the expression of antioxidant and AsA-GSH cycle-related genes and elevating the ratio of reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG). Similarly, AsA treatment significantly decreased the levels of reactive oxygen species [superoxide anion (O ) and hydrogen peroxide (H O )] in these plants. Together, these data indicate that AsA can alleviate salt-stress-induced inhibition of PSII and PSI in tomato seedlings by restoring the excitation energy balance between the photosystems, regulating the dissipation of excess light energy by CEF and , increasing photosynthetic electron flux, and enhancing the scavenging of reactive oxygen species, thereby enabling plants to better tolerate salt stress.