Assessment of UV-B sensitivity of photosynthetic apparatus among microalgae: Short-term laboratory screening versus long-term outdoor exposure

Fusheng Xiong, Ladislav Nedbal, Amir Neori

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A fifteen-day outdoor cultivation with the UV-B sensitive and the resistant microalgal species was carried out during mid-September to early October 1995 in order to verify laboratory-identified UV-B sensitivity/tolerance of the photosynthetic apparatus in these organisms, in the field. Outdoor light conditions during the experiment were basically characterized by a regular diurnal change superimposed by unequal daily variation of PAR and ambient UV-B irradiation. The maximum value of 370 W m-2 of PAR and 1.4 W m-2 of unweighted UV-B irradiation were monitored during midday sunny days. Both the UV-B sensitive and the -resistant species suffered from exposure to the solar irradiation as demonstrated by impairment of photosynthesis (photosynthetic O2 evolution capacity, Chl a fluorescence parameters and pigments content) and inhibition of the daily growth rate. Higher UV-B susceptibility was consistently observed in the lab-identified UV-B sensitive species, than its resistant counterparts. Outdoor exposure-caused impairment of photosynthesis was due to not only the UV-B-induced damage of photosynthetic apparatus but also the visible light-induced photoinhibition. Our results suggest that the protective mechanism that microalgae employ to counteract enhanced UV-B stress function both in the laboratory and in the field.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)54-62
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Plant Physiology
Volume155
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1999
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the grants 202/94/0457 and 202/951 1043 of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic. The microalgal species were kindly provided by ]aromir Lukavsky and Filip Lederer at the Collection of Aurotrophic Microorganisms, Botanical Institute, AVCR, Trebon.

Keywords

  • Chl fluorescence
  • Microalgae
  • Oxygen evolution
  • Photosynthesis
  • Solar irradiation
  • UV-B sensitivity
  • Ultraviolet irradiation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Plant Science

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