• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.231-236
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• 1994

The effect of $Cd^{2+}$ on the electron transport rate of PSI and PSII was investigated in isolated spinach chloroplasts. In photosystem II, the rate of electron transport was decreased as the concentration of $Cd^{2+}$ was increased from 1 to $100\;\mu\textrm{M}$. The inhibitory effect of $Cd^{2+}$ was reduced when diphenylcarbazide was added to the reaction medium, indicating that $Cd^{2+}$ affects primarily psn oxygen evolving complexes of thylakoid membrane. The inhibitory effect of $Cd^{2+}$ was reduced when $Mn^{2+}\;and\;Ca^{2+}$ were added to the reaction medium, but the inhibitory effect was not fully relieved. Although the activity of psn was decreased significantly by the treatment of $50\;\mu\textrm{M}\;Cd^{2+}$, Fv/Fm was decreased slightly. However, the treatment of $100\;\mu\textrm{M}\;Cd^{2+}$ resulted in the marked decrease of Fv/Fm. In photosystem I, the rate of electron transport decreased as the concentration of $Cd^{2+}$ was increased from 0.2 to 3.2 mM. The inhibitory effect of $Cd^{2+}$ was decreased when the chloroplast treated with $Cd^{2+}$ was washed by centrifugation.gation.