Diversity of pigment-protein complexes of photosynthetic organisms.

PS I, PS II and light-harvesting complexes (LHC) in oxygen evolving photosynthetic organisms were reviewed. These organisms include cyanobacteria, red algae, brown algae, diatoms, chrysophytes, dinophytes, xanthophytes, crypophytes, green algae and green plants. The diversity of pigment-protein complexes that fuel the conversion of radiant energy to chemical bond energy was highlighted, and the evolutionary relationships among the LHC structural polypeptides and the characteristics of the fluorescence emission of PS I at 77 K was discussed.

Marine photosynthetic organisms from the Portuguese coast as sources of antitumoural compounds

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Biomédicas, Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, Universidade do Algarve, 2016

Role of xanthophyll and water-water cycles in the protection of photosynthetic apparatus in Arbutus unedo and Arabidopsis thaliana

Photosynthetic organisms have sought out the delicate balance between efficient light harvesting under limited irradiance and regulated energy dissipation under excess irradiance. One of the protective mechanisms is the thermal energy dissipation through the xanthophyll cycle that may transform harmlessly the excitation energy into heat and thereby prevent the formation of damaging active oxygen species (AOS). Violaxanthin deepoxidase (VDE) converts violaxanthin (V) to antheraxanthin (A) and zeaxanthin (Z) defending the photosynthetic apparatus from excess of light. Another important biological pathway is the chloroplast water-water cycle, which is referred to the electrons from water generated in PSII reducing atmospheric O2 to water in PSI. This mechanism is active in the scavenging of AOS, when electron transport is slowed down by the over-reduction of NADPH pool. The control of the VDE gene and the variations of a set of physiological parameters, such as chlorophyll florescence and AOS content, have been investigated in response to excess of light and drought condition using Arabidopsis thaliana and Arbutus unedo.. Pigment analysis showed an unambiguous relationship between xanthophyll de-epoxidation state ((A+Z)/(V+A+Z)) and VDE mRNA amount in not-irrigated plants. Unexpectedly, gene expression is higher during the night when xanthophylls are mostly epoxidated and VDE activity is supposed to be very low than during the day. The importance of the water-water cycle in protecting the chloroplasts from light stress has been examined through Arabidopsis plant with a suppressed expression of the key enzyme of the cycle: the thylakoid-attached copper/zinc superoxide dismutase. The analysis revealed changes in transcript expression during leaf development consistent with a signalling role of AOS in plant defence responses but no difference was found any in photosynthesis efficiency or in AOS concentration after short-term exposure to excess of light. Environmental stresses such as drought may render previously optimal light levels excessive. In these circumstances the intrinsic regulations of photosynthetic electron transport like xanthophyll and water-water cycles might modify metabolism and gene expression in order to deal with increasing AOS.

Increased CO2 modifies the carbon balance and the photosynthetic yield of two common Arctic brown seaweeds: Desmarestia aculeata and Alaria esculenta

Ocean acidification affects with special intensity Arctic ecosystems, being marine photosynthetic organisms a primary target, although the consequences of this process in the carbon fluxes of Arctic algae are still unknown. The alteration of the cellular carbon balance due to physiological acclimation to an increased CO2 concentration (1300 ppm) in the common Arctic brown seaweeds Desmarestia aculeata and Alaria esculenta from Kongsfjorden (Svalbard) was analysed. Growth rate of D. aculeata was negatively affected by CO2 enrichment, while A. esculenta was positively affected, as a result of a different reorganization of the cellular carbon budget in both species. Desmarestia aculeata showed increased respiration, enhanced accumulation of storage biomolecules and elevated release of dissolved organic carbon, whereas A. esculenta showed decreased respiration and lower accumulation of storage biomolecules. Gross photosynthesis (measured both as O2 evolution and 14C fixation) was not affected in any of them, suggesting that photosynthesis was already saturated at normal CO2 conditions and did not participate in the acclimation response. However, electron transport rate changed in both species in opposite directions, indicating different energy requirements between treatments and species specificity. High CO2 levels also affected the N-metabolism, and 13C isotopic discrimination values from algal tissue pointed to a deactivation of carbon concentrating mechanisms. Since increased CO2 has the potential to modify physiological mechanisms in different ways in the species studied, it is expected that this may lead to changes in the Arctic seaweed community, which may propagate to the rest of the food web.

Isolation and functional characterisation of banana phytoene synthase genes as potential cisgenes

Carotenoids occur in all photosynthetic organisms where they protect photosystems from auto-oxidation, participate in photosynthetic energy-transfer and are secondary metabolites. Of the more than 600 known plant carotenoids, few can be converted into vitamin A by humans and so these pro-vitamin A carotenoids (pVAC) are important in human nutrition. Phytoene synthase (PSY) is a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of pVACs and plays a central role in regulating pVAC accumulation in the edible portion of crop plants. Bananas are a major commercial crop and serve as a staple crop for more than 30 million people. There is natural variation in fruit pVAC content across different banana cultivars, but this is not well understood. Therefore, we isolated PSY genes from banana cultivars with relatively high (cv. Asupina) and low (cv. Cavendish) pVAC content. We provide evidence that PSY in banana is encoded by two paralogs (PSY1 and PSY2), each with a similar gene structure to homologous genes in other monocots. Further, we demonstrate that PSY2 is more highly expressed in fruit pulp compared to leaf. Functional analysis of PSY1 and PSY2 in rice callus and E. coli demonstrate that both genes encode functional enzymes, and that Asupina PSYs have approximately twice the enzymatic activity of the corresponding Cavendish PSYs. These results suggest that differences in PSY enzyme activity contribute significantly to the differences in Asupina and Cavendish fruit pVAC content. Importantly, Asupina PSY genes could potentially be used to generate new cisgenic or intragenic banana cultivars with enhanced pVAC content.

A free-enzyme catalyst for the bioremediation of environmental atrazine contamination.

Herbicide contamination from agriculture is a major issue worldwide, and has been identified as a threat to freshwater and marine environments in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in Australia. The triazine herbicides are of particular concern because of potential adverse effects, both on photosynthetic organisms and upon vertebrate development. To date a number of bioremediation strategies have been proposed for triazine herbicides, but are unlikely to be implemented due to their reliance upon the release of genetically modified organisms. We propose an alternative strategy using a free-enzyme bioremediant, which is unconstrained by the issues surrounding the use of live organisms. Here we report an initial field trial with an enzyme-based product, demonstrating that the technology is technically capable of remediating water bodies contaminated with the most common triazine herbicide, atrazine.

Implications of geometric plasticity for maximizing photosynthesis in branching corals

Reef-building corals are an example of plastic photosynthetic organisms that occupy environments of high spatiotemporal variations in incident irradiance. Many phototrophs use a range of photoacclimatory mechanisms to optimize light levels reaching the photosynthetic units within the cells. In this study, we set out to determine whether phenotypic plasticity in branching corals across light habitats optimizes potential light utilization and photosynthesis. In order to do this, we mapped incident light levels across coral surfaces in branching corals and measured the photosynthetic capacity across various within-colony surfaces. Based on the field data and modelled frequency distribution of within-colony surface light levels, our results show that branching corals are substantially self-shaded at both 5 and 18 m, and the modal light level for the within-colony surface is 50 mu mol photons m(-2) s(-1). Light profiles across different locations showed that the lowest attenuation at both depths was found on the inner surface of the outermost branches, while the most self-shading surface was on the bottom side of these branches. In contrast, vertically extended branches in the central part of the colony showed no differences between the sides of branches. The photosynthetic activity at these coral surfaces confirmed that the outermost branches had the greatest change in sun- and shade-adapted surfaces; the inner surfaces had a 50 % greater relative maximum electron transport rate compared to the outer side of the outermost branches. This was further confirmed by sensitivity analysis, showing that branch position was the most influential parameter in estimating whole-colony relative electron transport rate (rETR). As a whole, shallow colonies have double the photosynthetic capacity compared to deep colonies. In terms of phenotypic plasticity potentially optimizing photosynthetic capacity, we found that at 18 m, the present coral colony morphology increased the whole-colony rETR, while at 5 m, the colony morphology decreased potential light utilization and photosynthetic output. This result of potential energy acquisition being underutilized in shallow, highly lit waters due to the shallow type morphology present may represent a trade-off between optimizing light capture and reducing light damage, as this type morphology can perhaps decrease long-term costs of and effect of photoinhibition. This may be an important strategy as opposed to adopting a type morphology, which results in an overall higher energetic acquisition. Conversely, it could also be that maximizing light utilization and potential photosynthetic output is more important in low-light habitats for Acropora humilis.

Biomonitoring of Lotic habitats through Diatoms

Freshwater ecosystems vary in size and composition and contain a wide range of organisms which interact with each other and with the environment. These interactions are between organisms and the environment as nutrient cycling, biomass formation and transfer, maintenance of internal environment and interactions with the external environment. The range of organisms present in aquatic communities decides the generation and transfer function of biomass, which defines and characterises the system. These organisms have distinct roles as they occupy particular trophic levels, forming an interconnected system in a food chain. Availability of resources and competition would primarily determine the balance of individual species within the food web, which in turn influences the variety and proportions of the different organisms, with important implications for the overall functioning of the system. This dynamic and diverse relationship decides the physical, chemical and biological elements across spatial and temporal scales in the aquatic ecosystem, which can be recorded by regular inventorying and monitoring to maintain the integrity and conserve the ecosystem. Regular environmental monitoring, particularly water quality monitoring allows us to detect, assess and manage the overall impacts on the rivers. The appreciation of water quality is in constant flux. Water quality assessments derived through the biotic indices, i.e. assessments based on observations of the resident floral and faunal communities has gained importance in recent years. Biological evaluations provide a description of the water quality that is often not achievable from elemental analyses alone. A biological indicator (or bioindicator) is a taxon or taxa selected based on its sensitivity to a particular attribute, and then assessed to make inferences about that attribute. In other words, they are a substitute for directly measuring abiotic features or other biota. Bioindicators are evaluated through presence or absence, condition, relative abundance, reproductive success, community structure (i.e. composition and diversity), community function (i.e. trophic structure), or any combination thereof.Biological communities reflect the overall ecological integrity by integrating various stresses, thus providing a broad measure of their synergistic impacts. Aquatic communities, both plants and animals, integrate and reflect the effects of chemical and physical disturbances that occur over extended periods of time. Monitoring procedures based on the biota measure the health of a river and the ability of aquatic ecosystems to support life as opposed to simply characterising the chemical and physical components of a particular system. This is the central purpose of assessing the biological condition of aquatic communities of a river.Diatoms (Bacillariophyceae), blue green algae (Cyanophyceae), green algae (Chlorophyceae), and red algae (Rhodphyceae) are the main groups of algae in flowing water. These organisms are widely used as biological indicators of environmental health in the aquatic ecosystem because algae occupy the most basic level in the transfer of energy through natural aquatic systems. The distribution of algae in an aquatic ecosystem is directly related to the fundamental factors such as physical, chemical and biological constituents. Soft algae (all the algal groups except diatoms) have also been used as indicators of biological integrity, but they may have less efficiency than diatoms in this respect due to their highly variable morphology. The diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) comprise a ubiquitous, highly successful and distinctive group of unicellular algae with the most obvious distinguishing characteristic feature being siliceous cell walls (frustules). The photosynthetic organisms living within its photic zone are responsible for about one-half of global primary productivity. The most successful organisms are thought to be photosynthetic prokaryotes (cyanobacteria and prochlorophytes) and a class of eukaryotic unicellular algae known as diatoms. Diatoms are likely to have arisen around 240 million years ago following an endosymbiotic event between a red eukaryotic alga and a heterotrophic flagellate related to the Oomycetes.The importance of algae to riverine ecology is easily appreciated when one considers that they are primary producers that convert inorganic nutrients into biologically active organic compounds while providing physical habitat for other organisms. As primary producers, algae transform solar energy into food from which many invertebrates obtain their energy. Algae also transform inorganic nutrients, such as atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms such as ammonia and amino acids that can be used by other organisms. Algae stabilises the substrate and creates mats that form structural habitats for fish and invertebrates. Algae are a source of organic matter and provide habitat for other organisms such as non-photosynthetic bacteria, protists, invertebrates, and fish. Algae's crucial role in stream ecosystems and their excellent indicator properties make them an important component of environmental studies to assess the effects of human activities on stream health. Diatoms are used as biological indicators for a number of reasons: 1. They occur in all types of aquatic ecosystems. 2. They collectively show a broad range of tolerance along a gradient of aquatic productivity, individual species have specific water chemistry requirements. 3. They have one of the shortest generation times of all biological indicators (~2 weeks). They reproduce and respond rapidly to environmental change and provide early measures of both pollution impacts and habitat restoration. 4. It takes two to three weeks before changes are reflected to a measurable extent in the assemblage composition.

Early response to nanoparticles in the Arabidopsis transcriptome compromises plant defence and root-hair development through salicylic acid signalling

Background: The impact of nano-scaled materials on photosynthetic organisms needs to be evaluated. Plants represent the largest interface between the environment and biosphere, so understanding how nanoparticles affect them is especially relevant for environmental assessments. Nanotoxicology studies in plants allude to quantum size effects and other properties specific of the nano-stage to explain increased toxicity respect to bulk compounds. However, gene expression profiles after exposure to nanoparticles and other sources of environmental stress have not been compared and the impact on plant defence has not been analysed. Results: Arabidopsis plants were exposed to TiO2-nanoparticles, Ag-nanoparticles, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as well as different sources of biotic (microbial pathogens) or abiotic (saline, drought, or wounding) stresses. Changes in gene expression profiles and plant phenotypic responses were evaluated. Transcriptome analysis shows similarity of expression patterns for all plants exposed to nanoparticles and a low impact on gene expression compared to other stress inducers. Nanoparticle exposure repressed transcriptional responses to microbial pathogens, resulting in increased bacterial colonization during an experimental infection. Inhibition of root hair development and transcriptional patterns characteristic of phosphate starvation response were also observed. The exogenous addition of salicylic acid prevented some nano-specific transcriptional and phenotypic effects, including the reduction in root hair formation and the colonization of distal leaves by bacteria. Conclusions: This study integrates the effect of nanoparticles on gene expression with plant responses to major sources of environmental stress and paves the way to remediate the impact of these potentially damaging compounds through hormonal priming.

Scientific assessment of marine harmful algal blooms

Algae are the most abundant photosynthetic organisms in marine ecosystems and are essential components of marine food webs. Harmful algal bloom or “HAB” species are a small subset of algal species that negatively impact humans or the environment. HABs can pose health hazards for humans or animals through the production of toxins or bioactive compounds. They also can cause deterioration of water quality through the buildup of high biomass, which degrades aesthetic, ecological, and recreational values. Humans and animals can be exposed to marine algal toxins through their food, the water in which they swim, or sea spray. Symptoms from toxin exposure range from neurological impairment to gastrointestinal upset to respiratory irritation, in some cases resulting in severe illness and even death. HABs can also result in lost revenue for coastal economies dependent on seafood harvest or tourism, disruption of subsistence activities, loss of community identity tied to coastal resource use, and disruption of social and cultural practices. Although economic impact assessments to date have been limited in scope, it has been estimated that the economic effects of marine HABs in U.S. communities amount to at least $82 million per year including lost income for fisheries, lost recreational opportunities, decreased business in tourism industries, public health costs of illness, and expenses for monitoring and management. As reviewed in the report, Harmful Algal Research and Response: A Human Dimensions Strategy1, the sociocultural impacts of HABs may be significant, but remain mostly undocumented.

Solar UV radiation drives CO2 fixation in marine phytoplankton: A double-edged sword

Photosynthesis by phytoplankton cells in aquatic environments contributes to more than 40% of the global primary production (Behrenfeld et al., 2006). Within the euphotic zone (down to 1% of surface photosynthetically active radiation [PAR]), cells are exposed not only to PAR (400-700 nm) but also to UV radiation (UVR; 280-400 nm) that can penetrate to considerable depths (Hargreaves, 2003). In contrast to PAR, which is energizing to photosynthesis, UVR is usually regarded as a stressor (Hader, 2003) and suggested to affect CO2-concentrating mechanisms in phytoplankton (Beardall et al., 2002). Solar UVR is known to reduce photosynthetic rates (Steemann Nielsen, 1964; Helbling et al., 2003), and damage cellular components such as D1 proteins (Sass et al., 1997) and DNA molecules (Buma et al., 2003). It can also decrease the growth (Villafane et al., 2003) and alter the rate of nutrient uptake (Fauchot et al., 2000) and the fatty acid composition (Goes et al., 1994) of phytoplankton. Recently, it has been found that natural levels of UVR can alter the morphology of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis (Wu et al., 2005b). On the other hand, positive effects of UVR, especially of UV- A (315-400 nm), have also been reported. UV- A enhances carbon fixation of phytoplankton under reduced (Nilawati et al., 1997; Barbieri et al., 2002) or fast-fluctuating (Helbling et al., 2003) solar irradiance and allows photorepair of UV- B-induced DNA damage (Buma et al., 2003). Furthermore, the presence of UV-A resulted in higher biomass production of A. platensis as compared to that under PAR alone (Wu et al., 2005a). Energy of UVR absorbed by the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries was found to cause fluorescence (Orellana et al., 2004). In addition, fluorescent pigments in corals and their algal symbiont are known to absorb UVR and play positive roles for the symbiotic photosynthesis and photoprotection (Schlichter et al., 1986; Salih et al., 2000). However, despite the positive effects that solar UVR may have on aquatic photosynthetic organisms, there is no direct evidence to what extent and howUVR per se is utilized by phytoplankton. In addition, estimations of aquatic biological production have been carried out in incubations considering only PAR (i. e. using UV-opaque vials made of glass or polycarbonate; Donk et al., 2001) without UVR being considered (Hein and Sand-Jensen, 1997; Schippers and Lurling, 2004). Here, we have found that UVR can act as an additional source of energy for photosynthesis in tropical marine phytoplankton, though it occasionally causes photoinhibition at high PAR levels. While UVR is usually thought of as damaging, our results indicate that UVR can enhance primary production of phytoplankton. Therefore, oceanic carbon fixation estimates may be underestimated by a large percentage if UVR is not taken into account.

Phycobilisome-Deficient Strains of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 Have Reduced Size and Require Carbon-Limiting Conditions to Exhibit Enhanced Productivity.

Reducing excessive light harvesting in photosynthetic organisms may increase biomass yields by limiting photoinhibition and increasing light penetration in dense cultures. The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 harvests light via the phycobilisome, which consists of an allophycocyanin core and six radiating rods, each with three phycocyanin (PC) discs. Via targeted gene disruption and alterations to the promoter region, three mutants with two (pcpcT→C) and one (ΔCpcC1C2:pcpcT→C) PC discs per rod or lacking PC (olive) were generated. Photoinhibition and chlorophyll levels decreased upon phycobilisome reduction, although greater penetration of white light was observed only in the PC-deficient mutant. In all strains cultured at high cell densities, most light was absorbed by the first 2 cm of the culture. Photosynthesis and respiration rates were also reduced in the ΔCpcC1C2:pcpcT→C and olive mutants. Cell size was smaller in the pcpcT→C and olive strains. Growth and biomass accumulation were similar between the wild-type and pcpcT→C under a variety of conditions. Growth and biomass accumulation of the olive mutant were poorer in carbon-saturated cultures but improved in carbon-limited cultures at higher light intensities, as they did in the ΔCpcC1C2:pcpcT→C mutant. This study shows that one PC disc per rod is sufficient for maximal light harvesting and biomass accumulation, except under conditions of high light and carbon limitation, and two or more are sufficient for maximal oxygen evolution. To our knowledge, this study is the first to measure light penetration in bulk cultures of cyanobacteria and offers important insights into photobioreactor design.

增强UV-B辐射对粗枝云杉(Picea asperata Mast.)和青杨(Populus cathayana Rehd.)的影响

光是植物赖以生存的重要环境因子，但是植物在获得光的同时不可避免的会受到紫外辐射的伤害。尤其是近年来，人类向大气中排放的大量氮氧化合物和氟氯烃类化合物(CFC’s)引起臭氧分子的分解，导致到达地球表面的紫外辐射增加，特别是UV-B辐射增强。而另一方面，植物对UV-B辐射反应的敏感性在种间和品种间存在差异，主要受植物基因型，生态型和生活型的控制。本项目分别以粗枝云杉和青杨组杨树为模式植物，从形态和生理生化方面分别研究了来自不同水分背景下的粗枝云杉种群和来自不同UV-B背景下的青杨种群在增强UV-B下的反应及其反应差异,并探讨了干旱、喷施外源脱落酸(ABA)对它们抗UV-B能力的影响。研究成果可为生态系统的恢复与重建提供理论依据和科学指导。主要研究结果如下： 1. 粗枝云杉的两个种群，湿润种群(来自四川黑水)和干旱种群(来自甘肃迭部)在水分良好和干旱状况下表现出对增强UV-B的不同响应。同时，干旱对粗枝云杉抗UV-B能力的影响也得到研究：两种胁迫共同作用时，干旱表现出在一定程度上减弱了增强UV-B对粗枝云杉的生理特性的影响。 干旱胁迫显著降低了两个粗枝云杉种群的光合同化速率(A), 气孔导度(gs)和PSII的有效光量子产量(Y), 同时，提高了非光化学猝灭效率(qN)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)的活性。与湿润种群相比，干旱种群抗旱性更强，表现为干旱种群拥有更高的SOD和干旱进一步加剧了UV-B的胁迫效应。 本研究中，干旱胁迫单独作用时，显著降低了青杨两个种群的生物量积累和气体交换，具体包括A、gs、蒸腾速率(E)和光合氮利用效率(PNUE)，提高了两个种群的瞬时水分利用效率(WUEi)、长期水分利用效率(WUET)、碳同位素组分(δ13C)和氮含量(N)。同时，UV吸收物质和ABA含量也得到积累。另一方面，增强UV-B对青杨两个种群各个指标的影响，同干旱所引起的效应有着相似的趋势。同低海拔种群相比，高海拔种群有着更强的抗旱和抗UV-B能力，具体表现在高海拔种群有着更多的生物量积累，更强的气体交换和水分利用效率及更高水平的ABA和UV吸收物质含量。相比干旱诱导的生物量积累和气体交换的降低，在干旱和增强UV-B两个胁迫同时作用于青杨时，这种降低表现的更为明显。显著的干旱和UV-B的交互作用还表现在WUEi, WUET, δ13C, 可溶性蛋白含量, UV吸收物质含量, ABA, 叶片和茎中的N含量以及C/N比中。 3. 经过一个生长季的试验观察，增强UV-B、外源ABA及两因子共同作用对青杨的生物量积累、气体交换、内源ABA和UV吸收物质含量、抗氧化系统以及碳、氮含量和碳/氮比均产生显著影响。本试验中，青杨的两个种群分别来自中国西南部的不同海拔地区，高海拔种群来自青海大通而低海拔种群来自四川九寨。外源ABA的胁迫为直接喷施ABA到青杨叶片，而增强UV-B胁迫是利用平方波系统分别保证青杨苗暴露于外界UV-B强度和两倍于外界UV-B强度下。 研究结果显示，增强UV-B显著的降低了两个青杨种群的株高、基茎、总叶面积和总生物量等生长指标，同时也导致其A、gs、E和叶片中碳含量的减少。而显著增加了SOD和过氧化物酶(GPx)活性水平，诱导了过氧化氢(H2O2)和MDA的显著增加，促进了UV吸收物质和不同器官中内源ABA含量的显著积累。另一方面，外源ABA引起了青杨光合同化速率的下降，SOD和GPx酶活性的增强，H2O2 和 MDA含量也表现出显著增加，同时，内源ABA含量得到显著累积。同低海拔种群相比，高海拔种群具有更加抗UV-B和外源ABA的特性。显著的UV-B和ABA的交互作用表现在A, E, SOD和GPx活性，以及叶片和根部的内源ABA等一系列指标中。在所有胁迫下，叶片中的碳和氮含量同其在茎和根中的含量显著相关，另外，叶片和茎中的氮含量同茎中的碳含量显著相关。 Sunlight is an indispensable environment factor for plants survival and development. Meanwhile, photosynthetic organisms need sunlight and are thus, inevitably, exposed to UV radiation. Especially for recent years, ultraviolet radiation, especially UV-B reaching the Earth’s surface increased because of depletion of ozone layer resulted from emission of NxO and CFC’s from human activities. On the other hand, the sensitivity of plants to UV-B radiation depends on the species, developmental stage and experimental conditions. In this experiment, two populations of Picea asperata Mast from different water background and two populations of Populus cathayana Rehder from different altitude background were selected as model plants to assess the effects of enhanced UV-B radiation. Morphological and physiological traits induced by enhanced UV-B in each plant species were observed and the different responses were discussed, furthermore the influences of drought and exogenous ABA on responses induced by enhanced UV-B were studied. The study could provide a strong theoretical evidence and scientific direction for the afforestation and rehabilitation of ecosystem. The results are as follows: 1. Different responses of two contrasting Picea asperata Mast. populations to enhanced ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation under well-watered and drought conditions were investigated. And the effects of enhanced UV-B on tolerance of drought were also observed in our study that the UV-B exposure may have alleviated some of the damage induced by drought. Two contrasting populations, originating from a wet and dry climate region in China, respectively, were employed in our study. Drought significantly decreased CO2 assimilation rate (A), stomatal conductance (gs) and effective PSII quantum yield (Y), while it significantly increased non-photochemical quenching (qN) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in both populations. Compared with the wet climate population, the dry climate population was more acclimated to drought stress and showed much higher activities of SOD and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and much lower levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and electrolyte leakage. On the other hand, enhanced UV-B radiation also induced a significant decrease in the chlorophyll (Chl) content in both populations under well-watered conditions, and a significant increase in UV-absorbing compounds in the wet climate population. After one growing season of exposure to different UV-B levels and watering regimes, the increases in MDA and electrolyte leakage, as induced by drought, were less pronounced under the combination of UV-B and drought. In addition, an additive effect of drought and UV-B on A and gs was observed in the wet climate population, and on the activity of APX and qN in the dry climate population. 2. The significant effects of drought, enhanced UV-B radiation and their combination on Populus cathayana Rehd. growth and physiological traits were investigated in two populations, originating from high and low altitudes in south-west China. Our results showed that UV-B acts as an important signal allowing P. cathayana seedlings to respond to drought and that the combination of drought and UV-B may cause synergistically detrimental effects on plant growth in both populations. In both populations, drought significantly decreased biomass accumulation and gas exchange parameters, including A, gs, E and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE). However, instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi), transpiration efficiency (WUET), carbon isotope composition (δ13C) and nitrogen (N) content, as well as the accumulation of soluble protein, UV-absorbing compounds and abscisic acid (ABA) were significantly increased by drought. On the other hand, cuttings from both populations, when kept under enhanced UV-B radiation conditions, showed very similar changes in all above-mentioned parameters, as induced by drought. Compared with the low altitude population, the high altitude population was more tolerant to drought and enhanced UV-B, as indicated by the higher level of biomass accumulation, gas exchange, water-use efficiency, ABA concentration and UV-absorbing compounds. After one growing season of exposure to different UV-B levels and watering regimes, the decrease in biomass accumulation and gas exchange, induced by drought, was more pronounced under the combination of UV-B and drought. Significant interactions between drought and UV-B were observed in WUEi, WUET, δ13C, soluble protein, UV-absorbing compounds, ABA and in the leaf and stem N, as well as in the leaf and stem C/N ratio. 3. During one growing season, significant effects induced by enhanced UV-B radiation, exogenous ABA and their combination on biomass accumulation, gas exchange, endogenous ABA and UV-absorbing compounds concentrations, antioxidant system as well as carbon (C) content, nitrogen (N) content and C/N ratio were investigated in two contrasting Populus cathayana populations, originating from high and low altitudes in south-west China. Exogenous ABA was sprayed to the leaves and enhanced UV-B treatment was using a square-wave system to make the seedlings under ambient (1×) or twice ambient (2×) doses of biologically effective UV-B radiation (UV-BBE). Enhanced UV-B radiation significantly decreased height, basal diameter, total leaf area, total biomass, A, gs, E and carbon (C) content in leaves, and significantly increased activities of SOD and guaiacol peroxidase (GPx), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malonaldehyde (MDA) content as well as the accumulation of UV-absorbing compounds and endogenous ABA concentrations among different organs in both populations. In contrast, exogenous ABA showed significant decrease in A and significant increases in activities of SOD and GPx, H2O2, MDA content and the endogenous ABA concentrations. Compared with the low altitude population, the high altitude population was more tolerant to enhanced UV-B and exogenous ABA. Significant interactions between UV-B and ABA were observed in A, E, activities of SOD and GPx, as well as in endogenous ABA in leaves and roots of both populations. Across all treatments, C and N content in leaves was strongly correlated with those were in stems and roots, respectively. Additionally, leaf and stem N content were significant correlated with stem C content.

Excitation energy distribution between two photosystems in Porphyra yezoensis and its significance in photosynthesis evolution

Comparative investigation on energy distribution between two photosystems were carried out in the sporophytes and gametophytes of Porphyra yezoensis. By performing 77 K fluorescence spectra, we suggested that there probably existed a pathway for energy transfer from PS II to PS I to redistribute the absorbed energy in gametophytes, while no such a way or at minor level in sporophytes. Electron transfer inhibitor DCMU blocked the energy transfer from PS II to PS I in gametophytes, but no obvious effects on sporophytes. These indicated that excitation energy distribution between two photosystems in gametophytes was more cooperative than that in sporophytes. These data in ontogenesis reflected the evolution process of photosynthetic organisms and supported the hypothesis of independent evolution of each photosystem.

The Ectocarpus genome and the independent evolution of multicellularity in brown algae

Brown algae (Phaeophyceae) are complex photosynthetic organisms with a very different evolutionary history to green plants, to which they are only distantly related(1). These seaweeds are the dominant species in rocky coastal ecosystems and they exhibit many interesting adaptations to these, often harsh, environments. Brown algae are also one of only a small number of eukaryotic lineages that have evolved complex multicellularity (Fig. 1). We report the 214 million base pair (Mbp) genome sequence of the filamentous seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye, a model organism for brown algae(2-5), closely related to the kelps(6,7) (Fig. 1). Genome features such as the presence of an extended set of light-harvesting and pigment biosynthesis genes and new metabolic processes such as halide metabolism help explain the ability of this organism to cope with the highly variable tidal environment. The evolution of multicellularity in this lineage is correlated with the presence of a rich array of signal transduction genes. Of particular interest is the presence of a family of receptor kinases, as the independent evolution of related molecules has been linked with the emergence of multicellularity in both the animal and green plant lineages. The Ectocarpus genome sequence represents an important step towards developing this organism as a model species, providing the possibility to combine genomic and genetic(2) approaches to explore these and other(4,5) aspects of brown algal biology further.