Sensitive Detection of Phosphorus Deficiency in Plants Using Chlorophyll a Fluorescence

Phosphorus (P) is a finite natural resource and an essential plant macronutrient with major impact on crop productivity and global food security. Here, we demonstrate that time-resolved chlorophyll a fluorescence is a unique tool to monitor bioactive P in plants and can be used to detect latent P de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant physiology (Bethesda) 2015-09, Vol.169 (1), p.353-361
Main Authors: Frydenvang, Jens, van Maarschalkerweerd, Marie, Carstensen, Andreas, Mundus, Simon, Schmidt, Sidsel Birkelund, Pedas, Pai Rosager, Laursen, Kristian Holst, Schjoerring, Jan K, Husted, Søren
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chlorophyll - metabolism
Fluorescence
Hordeum - metabolism
Hydroponics
Least-Squares Analysis
Phosphorus - deficiency
Plant Leaves - growth & development
Plant Leaves - metabolism
Principal Component Analysis
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Summary:Phosphorus (P) is a finite natural resource and an essential plant macronutrient with major impact on crop productivity and global food security. Here, we demonstrate that time-resolved chlorophyll a fluorescence is a unique tool to monitor bioactive P in plants and can be used to detect latent P deficiency. When plants suffer from P deficiency, the shape of the time-dependent fluorescence transients is altered distinctively, as the so-called I step gradually straightens and eventually disappears. This effect is shown to be fully reversible, as P resupply leads to a rapid restoration of the I step. The fading I step suggests that the electron transport at photosystem I (PSI) is affected in P-deficient plants. This is corroborated by the observation that differences at the I step in chlorophyll a fluorescence transients from healthy and P-deficient plants can be completely eliminated through prior reduction of PSI by far-red illumination. Moreover, it is observed that the barley (Hordeum vulgare) mutant Viridis-zb(63), which is devoid of PSI activity, similarly does not display the I step. Among the essential plant nutrients, the effect of P deficiency is shown to be specific and sufficiently sensitive to enable rapid in situ determination of latent P deficiency across different plant species, thereby providing a unique tool for timely remediation of P deficiency in agriculture.
ISSN:0032-0889
1532-2548
DOI:10.1104/pp.15.00823