ADVANCES IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS – FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS Edited by Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour Advances in Photosynthesis – Fundamental Aspects Edited by Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Vedran Greblo Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team Image Copyright Péter Gudella, 2010. Used under license from Shutterstock.com First published February, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechweb.org Advances in Photosynthesis – Fundamental Aspects, Edited by Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour p. cm. ISBN 978-953-307-928-8 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Photosynthesis: How and Why? 3 Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour and Babak Pashaei Part 2 Light and Photosynthesis 13 Chapter 2 The Guiding Force of Photons 15 Kevin M. Folta Chapter 3 Energy Conversion in Purple Bacteria Photosynthesis 43 Felipe Caycedo-Soler, Ferney J. Rodríguez, Luis Quiroga, Guannan Zhao and Neil F. Johnson Chapter 4 Carotenoids and Photosynthesis - Regulation of Carotenoid Biosyntesis by Photoreceptors 77 Claudia Stange and Carlos Flores Chapter 5 Mechanisms of Photoacclimation on Photosynthesis Level in Cyanobacteria 97 Sabina Jodłowska and Adam Latała Chapter 6 Photosynthesis in Microalgae as Measured with Delayed Fluorescence Technique 109 Maja Berden-Zrimec, Marina Monti and Alexis Zrimec Chapter 7 Fast Kinetic Methods with Photodiode Array Detection in the Study of the Interaction and Electron Transfer Between Flavodoxin and Ferredoxin NADP + -Reductase 129 Ana Serrano and Milagros Medina VI Contents Chapter 8 Photosynthesis in Lichen: Light Reactions and Protective Mechanisms 149 Francisco Gasulla, Joaquín Herrero, Alberto Esteban-Carrasco, Alfonso Ros-Barceló, Eva Barreno, José Miguel Zapata and Alfredo Guéra Chapter 9 Energy Conductance from Thylakoid Complexes to Stromal Reducing Equivalents 175 Lea Vojta and Hrvoje Fulgosi Chapter 10 The Photomorphogenic Signal: An Essential Component of Photoautotrophic Life 191 Sabrina Iñigo, Mariana R. Barber, Maximiliano Sánchez-Lamas, Francisco M. Iglesias and Pablo D. Cerdán Chapter 11 Chloroplast Photorelocation Movement: A Sophisticated Strategy for Chloroplasts to Perform Efficient Photosynthesis 215 Noriyuki Suetsugu and Masamitsu Wada Chapter 12 Light Harvesting and Photosynthesis by the Canopy 235 Mansour Matloobi Part 3 The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis 257 Chapter 13 The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis – XXVIII – Response of Plants to Polyalkylglucopyranose and Polyacylglucopyranose 259 Arthur M. Nonomura, Barry A. Cullen and Andrew A. Benson Chapter 14 The Role of C to N Balance in the Regulation of Photosynthetic Function 273 Vladimir I. Chikov and Svetlana N. Batasheva Chapter 15 High-CO 2 Response Mechanisms in Microalgae 299 Masato Baba and Yoshihiro Shiraiwa Chapter 16 Photosynthesis and Quantum Yield of Oil Palm Seedlings to Elevated Carbon Dioxide 321 H.Z.E. Jaafar and Mohd Hafiz Ibrahim Chapter 17 Oscillatory Nature of Metabolism and Carbon Isotope Distribution in Photosynthesizing Cells 341 Alexander A. Ivlev Chapter 18 Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism: Plasticity and Evolution 367 Roghieh Hajiboland Contents VII Part 4 Special Topics in Photosynthesis 401 Chapter 19 Photosynthetic Adaptive Strategies in Evergreen and Semi-Deciduous Species of Mediterranean Maquis During Winter 403 Carmen Arena and Luca Vitale Chapter 20 The Core- and Pan-Genomes of Photosynthetic Prokaryotes 423 Jeffrey W. Touchman and Yih-Kuang Lu Chapter 21 A Review: Polyamines and Photosynthesis 439 Sheng Shu, Shi-Rong Guo and Ling-Yun Yuan Chapter 22 An Overview of Plant Photosynthesis Modulation by Pathogen Attacks 465 Kumarakurubaran Selvaraj and Bourlaye Fofana Chapter 23 The Stringent Response in Phototrophs 487 Shinji Masuda Chapter 24 Morphological and Physiological Adjustments in Juvenile Tropical Trees Under Contrasting Sunlight Irradiance 501 Geraldo Rogério Faustini Cuzzuol and Camilla Rozindo Dias Milanez Chapter 25 Transglutaminase is Involved in the Remodeling of Tobacco Thylakoids 519 Nikolaos E. Ioannidis, Josep Maria Torné, Kiriakos Kotzabasis and Mireya Santos Chapter 26 The Plant–Type Ferredoxin-NADP + Reductases 539 Matías A. Musumeci, Eduardo A. Ceccarelli and Daniela L. Catalano-Dupuy Chapter 27 Primary Production in the Ocean 563 Daniel Conrad Ogilvie Thornton Preface Photosynthesis is one of the most important reactions on Earth. It is estimated that photosynthesis produces more than 100 billion tons of dry biomass annually. These fossil fuels are also derived from millions of years of photosynthetic activity. Now, the advances in characterization techniques and their application to the field have improved our understanding of photosynthesis. This book is aimed at providing the fundamental aspects of photosynthesis, and the results collected from different research groups. We have three sections in this book: light and photosynthesis, the path of carbon in photosynthesis, and special topics in photosynthesis. In each section important topics in the subject are discussed and (or) reviewed by experts in each book chapter. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors for their chapters. I wish to express my gratitude to the staff at In Tech, and in particular Mr. Vedran Greblo, for his kind assistance. I am grateful to the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (Zanjan, Iran) for support. Finally I want to thank my wife, Mary, for her encouragement and infinite patience throughout the time that the book was being prepared. Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, Gava Zang, Zanjan, Iran . ADVANCES IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS – FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS Edited by Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour Advances in Photosynthesis – Fundamental Aspects Edited by Mohammad. February, 2 012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechweb.org Advances in Photosynthesis. book was being prepared. Mohammad Mahdi Najafpour Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, Gava Zang, Zanjan, Iran Part 1 Introduction 1 Photosynthesis: