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Acclimation to UV radiation and antioxidative defence in the endemic Antarctic brown macroalga Desmarestia anceps along a depth gradient

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Abstract

The endemic Antarctic brown macroalga Desmarestia anceps colonizes the subtidal between 5 and 30 m in Potter Cove on King George Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Experiments were conducted to study photosynthetic activities, antioxidative enzymes and UV tolerance of field-grown individuals with respect to the light histories along different subtidal positions. Individuals collected from the upper (5.5 m) and mid-subtidal (9.0 m) are characterized by high maximum electron transport rates (ETRmax) measured by PAM-fluorometry and high activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) supported by considerable activities of glutathione reductase. Individuals of this species from the upper subtidal are able to tolerate high irradiances of UV-B radiation because its photosynthetic apparatus is putatively well protected by phlorotannins. In contrast, individuals from lower subtidal positions (13.5 and 15.5 m) showed an opposite trend: lower ETRmax and SOD activities as well as a lower UV tolerance of photosynthesis. Moreover, a non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (native PAGE) of a partially purified crude extract reveals that D. anceps has probably six isoforms of SOD. These intra-specific patterns imply a high phenotypical plasticity of D. anceps with respect to its photosynthesis and photoprotective mechanisms. Overall, photosynthesis, UV tolerance and antioxidative potential are highly regulated in D. anceps corresponding to the respective light regimes along its natural growth sites.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven and the Dirección Nacional del Antártico (DNA) in Buenos Aires for financial and logistical support to work in the Dallmann Laboratory at Carlini Station. Funding was also provided by both the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” (BI 772/2-1,2) and the “Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft deutscher Forschungszentren” (VH-NG-059). Our studies would not have been possible without the efficient support by the scientific diving team at Carlini Station in January 2005 (Ulrich and Jana Barenbrock, Katharina Zacher). Technical assistance in the laboratory by Alice Schneider and Meri Eichner is also gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Institute for Polar Ecology, Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Wischhofstr. 1-3, Building 12, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Ralf Rautenberger

  2. Department of Botany, University of Otago, 464 Great King Street, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand

    Ralf Rautenberger

  3. Department Seaweed Biology, Section Functional Ecology, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Christian Wiencke

  4. Department of Marine Botany, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. NW2, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Kai Bischof

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Correspondence to Ralf Rautenberger.

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Rautenberger, R., Wiencke, C. & Bischof, K. Acclimation to UV radiation and antioxidative defence in the endemic Antarctic brown macroalga Desmarestia anceps along a depth gradient. Polar Biol 36, 1779–1789 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1397-2

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