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The photosynthetic activities in relation to oxygen evolution rates, quantum yield, Co_2 uptake rates and room temperature chlorophyll fluorescence were investigated in cotyledons of cucumber seedlings exposed to low temperature(at 4℃) for 24 h. Light-chilling caused more inhibition on light-saturated maximum oxygen evolution rates, quantum yield, and Co_2 uptake rates that dark-chilling did in the cucumber plant. Light-chilling induced more marked increase in Fo and decrease in (Fv)m/Fm than dark-chilling did in the room temperature chlorophyll induction kinetics. The above results affected by chilling in the light are considered to be associated with the partial damage of the reaction center of PS Ⅱ and the decreased photosynthetic activities. There occurred a large decrease in qQ with little change in qNP in the light-chilling plant. When light- and dark- chilled plants were recovered at room temperature for 24 h and their chlorophyll fluorescences were induced with light doubling technique, light-chilled plants showed more smaller magnitude and rate of fluorescence relaxation than dark-chilled plants. These suggest that light-chilling might cause some alterations in transthylakoid ΔpH formation, and that photosynthetic apparatus of cucumber cotyledons is more susceptible to light-chilling. In the fast fluorescence induction kinetics, F_R was decreased by 60% in the light-chilled plants with reference to 25℃ light-grown plants, while the dark-chilled plants showed a decreased rate of only 20% with reference to 25℃ dark-treated plants for 24h, indicating that cucumber seedling is very sensitive to chilling stress. So, it is certain that chilling injury to the photosynthetic apparatus is strongly dependent on the presence of light in cucumber seedlings.
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