Night Light-Adaptation Strategies for Photosynthetic Apparatus in Yellow-Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) Exposed to Artificial Night Lighting

Plants can undergo external fluctuations in the natural light and dark cycle. The photosynthetic apparatus needs to operate in an appropriate manner to fluctuating environmental factors, especially in light. Yellow-poplar seedlings were exposed to nighttime artificial high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting to evaluate night light-adaptation strategies for photosynthetic apparatus fitness relative to pigment contents, photosystem II photochemistry, photosynthetic parameters, histochemical analysis of reactive oxygen species, and plant biomass. As a result, seedlings exhibited dynamic changes including the enhancement of accessory pigments, the reduction of photosystem II photochemistry, increased stomatal limitation, downregulation of photosynthesis, and the decreased aboveground and belowground biomass under artificial night lighting. Histochemical analysis with 3,3′-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) staining indicates the accumulation of in situ superoxide radicals (O2−) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in leaves exposed to the lowest level of artificial night lighting compared to control. Moreover, these leaves exposed to artificial night lighting had a lower nighttime respiration rate. These results indicated that HPS lighting during the night may act as a major factor as repressors of the fitness of photosynthesis and growth patterns, via a modification of the photosynthetic light harvesting apparatus.