Accompanying the CAM induction of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. grown in high salinity there are changes in the enzymes of carbon metabolism. However, there are no changes in the electron transport activities, Chl a/b ratios or in the distribution of chlorophyll amongst the various pigment-protein complexes of isolated thylakoids. Hence with CAM induction there are no changes in the photochemical apparatus of M. crystallinum thylakoids.
Despite comparable amounts of chlorophyll a/b-proteins of photosystem II to those found in typical C3 sun plants, both the C3 and CAM M. crystallinum chloroplasts have relatively more photosystem II, and, concommitantly, less photosystem I complex. This is consistent with greater fluorescence emission at 685 and 695 nm, and lower emission at 735 nm (measured at 77 K) than typically found for C3 plants, whether sun or shade species.
Photoinhibition of isolated C3 and CAM thylakoids by white light led to comparable decreases in electron transport capacities and fluorescence emission at 77 K with photosystem II being more affected than PSI. We suggest however, that the presence of more core PSII complexes relative to PSI complexes in this CAM-inducible plant, may provide an additional strategy to mitigate photoinhibition in the short-term.