Antioxidant protection and PSII regulation mitigate photo-oxidative stress induced by drought followed by high light in cashew plants

We tested the hypothesis that effective antioxidant and photoprotective mechanisms are able to avoid photodamage induced by prolonged water deficit (WD) followed by high light (HL). We employed cashew plants (Anacardium occidentale L.), a semiarid adapted species, as a model plant. WD-plants exposed to HL did not show alterations in maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), cellular integrity, H2O2 and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) contents, evidencing that they did not suffered photoinhibition and oxidative stress. These responses were associated with increases in ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, glutathione (GSH) oxidation and ascorbate (ASC) synthesis. This effective oxidative protection occurred in parallel to strong decrease in photosystem II and I (PSII and PSI) activities, increase in heat dissipation (qE), which was related to enhancement in cyclic electron flux. These favorable photoprotective changes were associated with efficient water use in response to HL, all contributing to avoid excess energy in chloroplasts of drought-exposed leaves. These protective features were associated with a tight regulation in D1 protein accumulation during HL, contributing to avoid reactive oxygen species over-accumulation and a subsequent effective PSII recovery during darkness. Our results indicate that cashew plants are able to avoid photoinhibition, tolerating extreme conditions of drought combined with HL. The displayed mechanisms involve essentially integrated responses to balance energy input and output, avoiding oxidative stress.