Determination of damages of photosynthetic metabolism caused by herbicides using a delayed fluorescence technique

摘要

The structure and function of chloroplast in plant can be affected by herbicide, resulting in the decrease in photosynthetic capacity. The photosystem II (PSII) in plants is considered to be the primary site where light-induced delayed fluorescence (DF) is produced. In this study, a simple analytical model of DF has been developed to diagnose the damages of photosynthesis caused by herbicides based on the charge recombination theory. Using a home-made portable DF detection system, we have studied the effects of two different kinds of herbicides on decay kinetics of DF in soybean (Glycine max (L.), Jinghuang No. 3). Current investigations have demonstrated that the analytic equation of DF decay dynamics we proposed here can accurately determine the extent of damage of herbicides to photosynthetic metabolism and truly reflect the mechanism and site about which herbicides inhibit photosynthetic electron transport chain. Therefore, the decay kinetics of DF with proper calibration may provide a promisingly new and practical means for pharmacological analysis of herbicides and damage-diagnosis of photosynthetic metabolism. The DF technique could be potentially useful for detecting the effects of herbicide on plant performance in vivo and screening new generation of promising herbicides with low toxicity and superhigh efficiency.