Properties of Thylakoid Membranes of the Mangroves, Avicennia germinans and Avicennia marina, and the Sugar Beet, Beta vulgaris, Grown under Different Salinity Conditions

Abstract

Properties of thylakoids isolated from leaves of three salt tolerant species, Avicennia germinans L., Avicennia marina var resinifera, and Beta vulgaris L., were not affected by the salinity in which the plants were grown. With increase in the growth salinity from 50 to 500 millimolar NaCl, there were no major effects on the per chlorophyll concentrations of lipids or proteins, or on the rates of uncoupled electron transport per chlorophyll mediated by either the whole chain or the partial reactions of photosystems I and II. Responses of the partial and whole chain reactions to variation in the sorbitol and NaCl concentrations in the assay media were independent of the salinity experienced during leaf growth and not substantially different from those of a salt-sensitive species, Cucurbita sativus L. Uncoupled rates of electron flow from water to p-benzoquinone mediated by photosystem II were insensitive to the NaCl concentration unless thylakoids were rendered Cl(-) deficient by treatment with uncoupler under alkaline conditions. Loss of 65% to 85% of the photosystem II activity in these Cl(-)-deficient thylakoids was restored by addition of 10 to 20 millimolar Cl(-).