Photoinhibition of Photosynthetic Oxygen Production and its Recovery in the Subtidal Red Alga Polyneura hilliae

In the marine red alga Polyneura hilliae photoinhibition of photosynthesis was investigated by measuring the photosynthetic oxygen production. The extent of photoinhibition in this alga depends on the fluence rate as well as on the time of exposure. Strongly photoinhibited algae recover slowly. Full recovery is reached only in weak light after 3 days. Two phases of recovery can be distinguished: a first relatively fast phase of recovery that is independent of light, and a second slow phase which begins after about 6 hours and requires weak light. Consequently, even in complete darkness partial recovery is observed. An action spectrum of photoinhibition and its comparison with the in vivo absorption spectrum of Polyneura demonstrates that photoinhibition is mainly caused by light which is absorbed by phycobiliproteins, chlorophyll a and carotenoids. This fact and the ineffectiveness of light above 686 nm clearly indicate that the main photoinhibition site in this alga is PS II. No photosynthetic oxygen production is detectable after 3 h irradiation at 402 nm, 150 μmol quanta m−2s−1. As photosynthetic activity recovers slowly and to a limited extent, the suppression of oxygen production is apparently only in part the result of photoinhibition sensu strictu and in part due to permanent photodamage.