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Photosynthetic characteristics were compared between female and male ginkgoes, to investigate the differences in photosynthetic decline of leaves between two species during leaf senescence. Photosynthetic rate was used as a biomarker to define the initiation of leaf senescence which could be divided two stages. Therefore, the leaf senescence of ginkgo occurred at late August which could be the beginning of autumn. During the early stages of leaf senescence, photosynthetic functions, such as the electron transport activities of photosystems and photophosphorylation, and scavenging activities were lower in female than in male. But at the late senescence, these characteristics of female were higher those of male. With leaf aging, the damage to chloroplast of female induced by senescence was more than that of male. Our results found that there was a similar rate of leaf senescence between female and male, which may be the reason why the ginkgo has declined during the evolution of plant senescence. |
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Keywords:Ginkgo biloba;photosynthesis;leaf senescence;evolution |
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