Determination of Prenylquinones in Green Photosynthetically Active Moss and Liver Moss Tissues

The prenylquinone composition of two species of mosses ( Polytrichum formosum Hedw., Sphagnum acutifolium Ehrh.) and two species of liver mosses ( Lunularia cruciata (L.) Dum., Pellia epiphylla (L.) Cord.) was determined and compared with the chlorophyll content and the photosynthetic activity of the intact moss and liver moss tissues. Green moss and liver moss tissues possess in principle the same prenylquinone composition as higher plants with plastoquinone‐9, α‐tocopherol, α‐tocoquinone and the phylloquinone K 1 as main components. On a chlorophyll basis the lipoquinone levels are lower than in higher plants. Differences among the individual mosses as well as within one species only occur in the quantitative levels of the chloroplast prenylquinones, but there are no differences between musci and liver mosses. There are differences in the maximal fluorescence of liver mosses and mosses. The variable fluorescence in turn, which is a measure of in vivo photosynthetic activity, is very similar for all examined species of mosses and liver mosses (values from 0.7 to 1.0) but somewhat lower than in leaf pieces of higher plants. DCMU blocks the variable fluorescence and the concomitant oxygen evolution in all mosses and liver mosses. From the lower prenylquinone levels and the low values for the variable fluorescence it is concluded that mosses and liver mosses exhibit on a chlorophyll basis fewer reaction centres and electron transport chains than chloroplasts of higher plants.