Chlorophyll fluorescence and the non-destructive assessment of photosynthesis. From chloroplasts to canopies.

LAGORIO, MARÍA GABRIELA

Buenos Aires

Simposio; Exploring the Frontiers of Chemistry: Challenges for the 21st Century. Exactas UBA/ Ben-Gurion University,; 2019

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas

The analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence in plants allows obtaining relevant information about the photosynthetic activity. The key that connects photosynthesis with fluorescence is provided by the competitiveness of the processes that lead to the deactivation of chlorophyll, once it is excited bylight absorption or energy transfer. In fact, there are three competing processes: i) transfer of electrons from the excited state, which initiates the electronic transport of the photosynthetic chain, ii) heat dissipation and iii) emission of fluorescence. This talk presents a review of the methodologies used in the analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence for diverse photosyntheticmaterials; both at laboratory and field level, and physical models are explained to correct distortions by light re-absorption processes. It introduces how information on the effect of pollution and/or environmental stress on the health of crops can be obtained from the analysis of the fluorescent emission. The main achievements of our research group are summarized, both for natural media and for hybrid systems constituted by photosynthetic material with incorporatednanoparticles