Relationship between steady-state fluorescence yield and photosynthetic efficiency in spinach leaf tissue

The relationship between steady-state photosynthetic efficiency, as moles CO2 per mole of incident visible photons under 2% O2, and chlorophyll fluorescence quenching has been investigated in intact leaf tissue of Spinacia oleracia. Fluorescence yield was measured using a pulse amplitude modulation technique that permitted rapid and sensitive resolution and quantitation of photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching coefficients. A highly linear relationship was observed between photosynthetic efficiency and the ratio of photochemical:nonphotochemical quenching coefficients for values of the latter less than 1.6. This relationship applied whether irradiance or CO2 concentration was varied. The observed relationships between photochemical yield and fluorescence yield were compatible with the photosystem II model proposed by Butler and Kitajima (1975 Biochim Biophys Acta 376: 116-125). The results are discussed with respect to the proposed role of nonphotochemical quenching in regulating radiant energy utilization and also the applicability of fluorescence measurements as a means of estimation of the rate of photosynthetic electron transport.