Femtosecond Transient Absorption Spectroscopy on the Light-Adaptation of Living Plants

The photoprotection reaction of the photosynthetic system under excessive sun light has been resolved for the first time by femtosecond absorption spectroscopy from the visible to near-infrared in intact leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. The light-adaptation process was measured and a prominent non-photochemical quenching (npq) behavior located in photosystem II was observed. Among the various npq quenching mechanisms which have been discussed so far the most likely is the formation of chlorophyll-chlorophyll charge-transfer states which create a powerful energy dissipation pathway for the quenching.