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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

In vivo epidermal UV-A absorbance is induced by sunlight and protects Soldanella alpina leaves from photoinhibition

Constance Laureau A , Sylvie Meyer A B , Xavier Baudin C , Christophe Huignard A and Peter Streb A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Laboratoire Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, UMR-CNRS 8079, Bât. 362, F-91405 Orsay, France.

B Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, F-75475, Paris, France.

C Plateforme de Recherche ImagoSeine, Institut Jacques Monod, UMR 7592 CNRS, INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale), Université Paris Diderot-Paris7, Bât. Buffon, F-75013 Paris, France.

D Corresponding author. Email: peter.streb@u-psud.fr

This work is dedicated to Serge Aubert.

Functional Plant Biology 42(7) 599-608 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP14240
Submitted: 2 September 2014  Accepted: 2 March 2015   Published: 10 April 2015

Abstract

Alpine plants like Soldanella alpina L. are subjected to high PAR and high UV radiation. Among the important photoprotective mechanisms that prevent photoinhibition under such conditions, passive optical barriers such as UV-absorbing compounds were investigated. In this study, temporal and spatial patterns of epidermal UV-A absorbance for S. alpina leaves were investigated with a combination of absorbance measurements at 375 nm and imaging methods. UV-A absorbance was highest in plants acclimated to full sunlight and was markedly stable during the leaves’ lifetime. UV-A absorbance was correlated with leaf structure (leaf mass per area ratio, density of epidermal cells and stomata) and biochemical features such as chlorophyll and carotenoid content and ratio, which are characteristics of light acclimation. UV-A-absorbing compounds were mainly localised in the epidermal vacuoles and trichomes. Leaves with low UV-A absorbance were significantly more photosensitive than leaves with high UV-A absorbance. However, the epidermal UV-A absorbance increased in low-absorbance leaves under full sunlight even in the absence of UV radiation. Results suggest that high epidermal UV-A absorbance protects S. alpina leaves from photoinactivation, which is especially important after snowmelt, when plants are suddenly exposed to full sunlight.

Additional keywords: Alpine plants, chlorophyll fluorescence, flavonoids, light acclimation, microscopic imaging.


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