Kautsky effect

The Kautsky effect is an effect named after Hans Kautsky that occurs in connection with chlorophyll fluorescence .

An intact plant leaf - quickly brought out of the dark to light - emits a high level of fluorescence over a short period of around three minutes. During this period of time, however, the fluorescence decreases permanently until it has reached a certain value.

The reason for this observation is that the complex photosynthetic system takes time to become active. During the three minutes, enzymes and metabolic pathways have to be set in motion, so that the energy supplied by the sudden incidence of light cannot be immediately absorbed or passed on to the electron transport chain , which leads to a traffic jam. The chlorophyll therefore emits the excess energy as fluorescence.

literature

• H. Kautsky, A. Hirsch: New attempts at carbonic acid assimilation . In: Natural Sciences . tape 19 , no. 48 , November 1931, p. 964 , doi : 10.1007 / BF01516164 .