Lack of tocopherols influences the PSII antenna and the functioning of photosystems under low light

As tocopherols are expected to protect PSII against toxic singlet oxygen it is surprising that the null tocopherol mutant vte1 has been reported to show only a weak enhancement of photosystem II photoinhibition under high irradiance. Based on the view that singlet oxygen is formed also in unstressed conditions, such as low light (LL), we hypothesized that some defense strategies are activated in vte1 in these light conditions. In support for that we noted several symptoms of stress at PSII in the mutant under LL, by means of parameters of fast and slow kinetics of chlorophyll fluorescence and of changes in the relative contribution of PSII antenna in comparison to those of PSI. This was associated with a lower extent of phosphorylation of PSII core proteins (D1 and CP43). PSII RCs do not totally recover from stress in vte1 even after the nocturnal phase. As a clear compensation for the impeded performance of PSII in the vte1 we noted an increased quantum efficiency of PSI. A pronounced changes between WT and the vte1 mutant were also related to conformation of LHCII at the beginning of photoperiod, suggesting the absence of LHCII trimers in the mutant. The thylakoids thickness was similar in WT and vte1 under LL, but a pronounced unstacking of thylakoids was evoked by HL only in vte1. In conclusion, we postulate that action of ¹O₂ on PSII in vte1 leads to some permanent damage at PSII core and at LHCII already under LL.