Chlorophyll fluorescence analysis and imaging in plant stress and disease

Quantitative analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence transients and quenching has evolved rapidly in the last decade. Instrumentation capable of fluorescence detection in bright actinic light has been used in conjunction with gas exchange analysis to build an empirical foundation relating quenching parameters to photosynthetic electron transport, the state of the photoapparatus, and carbon fixation. We have developed several instruments that collect video images of chlorophyll fluorescence. Digitized versions of these images can be manipulated as numerical data arrays, supporting generation of quenching maps that represent the spatial distribution of photosynthetic activity in leaves. We have applied this technology to analysis of fluorescence quenching during application of stress hormones, herbicides, physical stresses including drought and sudden changes in humidity of the atmosphere surrounding leaves, and during stomatal oscillations in high CO{sub 2}. We describe a recently completed portable fluorescence imaging system utilizing LED illumination and a consumer-grade camcorder, that will be used in long-term, non-destructive field studies of plant virus infections