Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Technical focus
Measurements of photosynthesis and respiration in plants
Stephen Hunt
Department of Biology, BioSciences Complex, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
e-mail: hunt@biology.queensu.ca
Received 17 May 2002; revised 30 September 2002
Methods for measuring the rates of photosynthesis and neous rates of CO2 and O2 exchange are described. Important
respiration in plants are reviewed. Closed systems that involve features of the analysers, design features of gas exchange
manometric techniques, 14CO2 fixation, O2 electrodes and systems, and sources of potential error are considered. The
other methods for measuring dissolved and gas phase O2 are analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters for estimating
described. These methods typically provide time-integrated the quantum yield for O2 evolution and CO2 fixation is
rate measurements, and limitations to their use are discussed. described in relation to new fluorescence imaging systems
Open gas exchange systems that use infra-red CO2 gas ana- for large scale screening of photosynthetic phenotypes, and
lysers and differential O2 analysers for measuring instanta- the microimaging of individual chloroplasts.
Introduction
Photosynthesis and respiration are the most studied physio- techniques (Warburg 1919). Warburg manometers meas-
logical processes in plant science, because the balance ure pressure changes in a closed vessel that occur when
between these two processes determines, to a very large a photosynthesizing or respiring organism exchanges O2
extent, the growth and yield of most plants. Photosynthesis and CO2 with the atmosphere. To measure these pressure
and aerobic respiration result in the exchange of the same changes, elaborate reaction vessels were made from
two gases, CO2 and O2, from plant tissues, and it is the net blown glass and connected to a U-form capillary tube
rate at which these gases are produced and consumed that filled with manometric fluid. Most manometric methods
forms the basis of most methods for measuring these involved the use of aqueous suspensions of cells in the
processes. It is the purpose of this paper to introduce the reaction vessel, and Warburg (1919) was among the first
novice to the techniques for measuring photosynthesis and researchers to suggest the use of the unicellular alga
respiration, to review, briefly, the history of these methods, Chlorella as a suitable organism for study. An advantage
and to describe some of the newer techniques that are of using aqueous samples was that inhibitors and activa-
currently in use. Given the allotted space for such a broad tors of respiration and photosynthesis could be intro-
topic, it is inevitable that much will be omitted. However, duced into the cell suspensions to investigate
the references to more detailed works should provide the biochemical pathways.
reader with enough information to design measurement Manometric measurements are made typically at
systems for photosynthesis and respiration successfully. either constant pO2 or constant pCO2. For photosyn-
thetic measurements at constant pO2, the simplest
Historical perspective approach is to maintain pO2 at zero by filling a side
arm of the reaction vessel with CrCl2 to remove all O2
Manometric techniques from the atmosphere. For experiments at constant pCO2,
The twice Nobel Laureate Otto Warburg pioneered Warburg (1919) proposed the use of carbonate-bicarbonate
measurement of photosynthetic rate using manometric buffers in the reaction vessel so that photosynthetic
Abbreviations A, CO2 assimilation rate; Ci, intercellular CO2 concentration; DRUR, diverted reductant utilization rate; IRGA, infra-red gas
analyser; PAR, photosynthetically active radiation; pCO2, partial pressure of CO2 in a gas stream; pO2, partial pressure of O2 in a gas stream;
PPFD, photosynthetic photon flux density; PS, photosynthesis.
90% Response
Analyser Gas System Mechanism Range Resolution time
O2 electrode O2 Closed Polarographic 01.3 mmol ml1 0.001 mmol ml1 .5 s
(00.3 typical)
Leaf disc electrode O2 Closed Polarographic 0100% 0.04% in air .5 s
(040% typical)
Fibre optic O2 robe O2 Closed Fluorescence 0100% (air) 0.04% (air) .1 s
quenching 040 ppm (water) 0.02 ppm (water)
IRGA CO2 Open IR Absorption
or closed Spectroscopy 03000 ppm* Better than 1 ppm .1 s
Fuel cell (absolute) O2 Closed Galvanic 0100% 0.01% 10 s
Differential O2 Open Heated ZnO2
Zirconium ceramic cells 0100% 2 ppm against air .1 s
Differential O2 Open
fuel cell or closed Galvanic 0100% 1 ppm against air 10 s
Numerous systems are available for the simultaneous potential problem by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence
measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence with O2 and CO2 exchange over a 2-cm2 area of leaf enclosed in
exchange (e.g. FMS1 with DW2, Hansatech Instruments; a leaf chamber. More recently, chlorophyll fluorescence
PAM 101, 102 and 103, Heinz Walz GmbH, Effeltrich, imaging systems have been developed that allow meas-
Germany) and with CO2 exchange (e.g. FL2LP, Qubit urement of fluorescence heterogeneity within the sample
Systems Inc.; LI-6400F, Li-Cor Biosciences Inc.). Most (FluorImager, Qubit Systems Inc., FluorCam, Photon
of these measure chlorophyll fluorescence from just a Systems Instruments, Brno Czech Republic; Imaging-
small part of the sample while measuring gas exchange PAM, Heinz Walz GmbH). These systems use a filtered
over the entire sample area, so leaf heterogeneity is not CCD camera as a fluorescence detector that captures
taken into account. Li-Cors LI-6400F overcomes this a complete image of the sample. Fluorescence parameters
Edited by M. Griffith