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Photostasis and cold acclimation: sensing low temperature through photosynthesis
Author(s) -
Ensminger Ingo,
Busch Florian,
Huner Norman P. A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.2006.00627.x
Subject(s) - photosynthesis , photosystem , acclimatization , photosystem ii , electron transport chain , crosstalk , redox , biophysics , chloroplast , sink (geography) , biology , botany , chemistry , biochemistry , physics , cartography , organic chemistry , gene , optics , geography
Photosynthesis is a highly integrated and regulated process which is highly sensitive to any change in environmental conditions, because it needs to balance the light energy absorbed by the photosystems with the energy consumed by metabolic sinks of the plant. Low temperatures exacerbate an imbalance between the source of energy and the metabolic sink, thus requiring adjustments of photosynthesis to maintain the balance of energy flow. Photosynthesis itself functions as a sensor of this imbalance through the redox state of photosynthetic electron‐transport components and regulates photophysical, photochemical and metabolic processes in the chloroplast. Recent progress has been made in understanding how plants sense the low temperature signal. It is clear that photosynthesis interacts with other processes during cold acclimation involving crosstalk between photosynthetic redox, cold acclimation and sugar‐signalling pathways to regulate plant acclimation to low temperatures.