A perspective on ecologically relevant plant-UV research and its practical application

Robson, T. M. et al. (2019) A perspective on ecologically relevant plant-UV research and its practical application. Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 18(5), pp. 970-988. (doi: 10.1039/c8pp00526e) (PMID:30720036)

Abstract

Plants perceive ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation through the UV-B photoreceptor UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8), and initiate regulatory responses via associated signalling networks, gene expression and metabolic pathways. Various regulatory adaptations to UV-B radiation enable plants to harvest information about fluctuations in UV-B irradiance and spectral composition in natural environments, and to defend themselves against UV-B exposure. Given that UVR8 is present across plant organs and tissues, knowledge of the systemic signalling involved in its activation and function throughout the plant is important for understanding the context of specific responses. Fine-scale understanding of both UV-B irradiance and perception within tissues and cells requires improved application of knowledge about UV-attenuation in leaves and canopies, warranting greater consideration when designing experiments. In this context, reciprocal crosstalk among photoreceptor-induced pathways also needs to be considered, as this appears to produce particularly complex patterns of physiological and morphological response. Through crosstalk, plant responses to UV-B radiation go beyond simply UV-protection or amelioration of damage, but may give cross-protection over a suite of environmental stressors. Overall, there is emerging knowledge showing how information captured by UVR8 is used to regulate molecular and physiological processes, although understanding of upscaling to higher levels of organisation, i.e. organisms, canopies and communities remains poor. Achieving this will require further studies using model plant species beyond Arabidopsis, and that represent a broad range of functional types. More attention should also be given to plants in natural environments in all their complexity, as such studies are needed to acquire an improved understanding of the impact of climate change in the context of plant-UV responses. Furthermore, broadening the scope of experiments into the regulation of plant-UV responses will facilitate the application of UV radiation in commercial plant production. By considering the progress made in plant-UV research, this perspective highlights prescient topics in plant-UV photobiology where future research efforts can profitably be focussed. This perspective also emphasises burgeoning interdisciplinary links that will assist in understanding of UV-B effects across organisational scales and gaps in knowledge that need to be filled so as to achieve an integrated vision of plant responses to UV-radiation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Financial support was provided by: the Academy of Finland decision 304519 and 266523 to TMR; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (MINECO) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) Project CGL2014- 54127-P to JM-A; the Polish National Science Centre grants UMO-2016/22/E/NZ3/00326 to AKB and UMO-2017/25/B/NZ3/ 01080 to JŁ; bursaries from UV4Plants and the Doctoral Programme in Plant Science of the University of Helsinki to CCB and NR; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) project 359552155 to SN; the Region Haute-Normandie GRR-TERA SCALE, UFOSE Project to MP; Ghent University and The Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, G000515N) to FV; and Science Foundation Ireland project 16-IA-4418 to MAKJ.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jenkins, Professor Gareth
• Authors: Robson, T. M., Aphalo, P. J., Banaś, A. K., Barnes, P. W., Brelsford, C. C., Jenkins, G. I., Kotilainen, T. K., Łabuz, J., Martínez-Abaigar, J., Morales, L. O., Neugart, S., Pieristè, M., Rai, N., Vandenbussche, F., and Jansen, M. A. K.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences
• Journal Name: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 1474-905X
• ISSN (Online): 1474-9092
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry and Owner Societies
• First Published: First published in Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences 18(5):970-988
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License