The subaerial cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme can survive for years in the desiccated state and light exposure may stimulate photosynthetic recovery during rehydration. However, the influence of light quality on photosynthetic recovery and the underlying mechanism remain unresolved. Exposure of field collected N. flagelliforme to light intensity >/=2 mumol photons m(-2) s(-1) showed that the speed of photosystem II (PSII) recovery was in the following order: red > green > blue approximately violet light. Decreasing the light intensity showed that weak red light stimulated PSII recovery dur...
