Divergent electron transport strategies and thylakoid ultrastructure maintain photosystem integrity in two coastal winter-grown Cichorium intybus L. cultivars.

Cichorium intybus winter radicchio cultivars from Italy use divergent electron-transport strategies to preserve photosystem integrity, with 'Rosso di Chioggia precoce' showing high LEF capacity and canonical grana-intergrana architecture.

• Why it matters: The work tests whether angiosperms adapted to the same coastal environment converge structurally and functionally in thylakoids, or instead maintain distinct regulatory solutions.
• What they did: Chlorophyll a fluorescence, P700 absorption, electrochromic bandshift, and quantitative thylakoid ultrastructure were used to compare 'Rosso di Chioggia precoce' versus 'Rosso di Treviso precoce' electron and proton flux regulation.
• The result: 'Rosso di Treviso precoce' compensates for lower LEF by altering membrane properties—reduced PSII connectivity, enlarged plastoquinone pool, enhanced PSI cyclic electron flow and ATP synthesis—linked to spatial PSI segregation in circular single thylakoids.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.