The present study shows the effect of salinity on the functions of thylakoid membranes from two hybrid lines of Paulownia: Paulownia tomentosa x fortunei and Paulownia elongate x elongata, grown in a Hoagland solution with two NaCl concentrations (100 and 150 mM) and different exposure times (10 and 25 days). We observed inhibition of the photochemical activities of photosystem I (DCPIH2 → MV) and photosystem II (H2O → BQ) only after the short treatment (10 days) with the higher NaCl concentration. Data also revealed alterations in the energy transfer between pigment-protein complexes (fluorescence emission ratios F735/F685 and F695/F685), the kinetic parameters of the oxygen-evolving reactions (initial S0-S1 state distribution, misses (α), double hits (β) and blocked centers (SB)). Moreover, the experimental results showed that after prolonged treatment with NaCl Paulownia tomentosa x fortunei adapted to the higher concentration of NaCl (150 mM), while this concentration is lethal for Paulownia elongata x elongata. This study demonstrated the relationship between the salt-induced inhibition of the photochemistry of both photosystems and the salt-induced changes in the energy transfer between the pigment-protein complexes and the alterations in the Mn cluster of the oxygen-evolving complex under salt stress.
Keywords: NaCl treatment; electron transport; low-temperature chlorophyll fluorescence; thylakoid membranes.