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UV effects on photosynthesis and DNA in propagules of three Antarctic seaweeds (Adenocystis utricularis, Monostroma hariotii and Porphyra endiviifolium)

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Abstract

Ozone depletion is highest during spring and summer in Antarctica, coinciding with the seasonal reproduction of most macroalgae. Propagules are the life-stage of an alga most susceptible to environmental perturbations therefore, reproductive cells of three intertidal macroalgal species Adenocystis utricularis (Bory) Skottsberg, Monostroma hariotii Gain, and Porphyra endiviifolium (A and E Gepp) Chamberlain were exposed to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), PAR + UV-A and PAR + UV-A + UV-B radiation in the laboratory. During 1, 2, 4, and 8 h of exposure and after 48 h of recovery, photosynthetic efficiency, and DNA damage were determined. Saturation irradiance of freshly released propagules varied between 33 and 83 μmol photons m−2 s−1 with lowest values in P. endiviifolium and highest values in M. hariotii. Exposure to 22 μmol photons m−2 s−1 PAR significantly reduced photosynthetic efficiency in P. endiviifolium and M. hariotii, but not in A. utricularis. UV radiation (UVR) further decreased the photosynthetic efficiency in all species but all propagules recovered completely after 48 h. DNA damage was minimal or not existing. Repeated exposure of A. utricularis spores to 4 h of UVR daily did not show any acclimation of photosynthesis to UVR but fully recovered after 20 h. UVR effects on photosynthesis are shown to be species-specific. Among the tested species, A. utricularis propagules were the most light adapted. Propagules obviously possess good repair and protective mechanisms. Our study indicates that the applied UV dose has no long-lasting negative effects on the propagules, a precondition for the ecological success of macroalgal species in the intertidal.

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Abbreviations

PAR:

Photosynthetically active radiation

UV-A:

Ultraviolet-A

UV-B:

Ultraviolet-B

UVR:

UV radiation

P:

PAR

PA:

PAR + UV-A

PAB:

PAR + UV-A + UV-B

CPDs:

Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers

Fv/Fm:

Optimum quantum yield

Ik :

Saturation irradiance

PFD:

Photon flux density

P–I curves :

Photosynthesis irradiance curves

rETR:

Relative electron transport rate

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the dive team for collecting the samples. Thanks to A. Vink for providing Hela DNA. This work has been done under the agreement on scientific cooperation between the AWI and DNA at Dallmann Laboratory, annex to Jubany station, King Georg Island, Antarctica. Thanks to the Jubany and Dallmann team for their support. We gratefully acknowledge financial support by the German Research Council (DFG) and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany.

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Author notes

  1. Michael Y. Roleda

    Present address: Institut für Polarökologie, Wischhofstr. 1-3, Gebäude 12, 24148, Kiel, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Katharina Zacher

  2. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, 27498, Helgoland, Germany

    Michael Y. Roleda

  3. Biozentrum Klein Flottbek, University of Hamburg, Ohnhorst-Str. 18, 22609, Hamburg, Germany

    Dieter Hanelt

  4. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Christian Wiencke

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  1. Katharina Zacher
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  4. Christian Wiencke
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Correspondence to Katharina Zacher.

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Zacher, K., Roleda, M.Y., Hanelt, D. et al. UV effects on photosynthesis and DNA in propagules of three Antarctic seaweeds (Adenocystis utricularis, Monostroma hariotii and Porphyra endiviifolium). Planta 225, 1505–1516 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-006-0436-4

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