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PAR modulation of the UV-dependent levels of flavonoid metabolites in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. leaf rosettes: cumulative effects after a whole vegetative growth period

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Abstract

Long-term effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on flavonoid biosynthesis were investigated in Arabidopsis thaliana using the sun simulators of the Helmholtz Zentrum München. The plants, which are widely used as a model system, were grown (1) at high photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 1,310 µmol m−2 s−1) and high biologically effective UV irradiation (UV-BBE 180 mW m−2) during a whole vegetative growth period. Under this irradiation regime, the levels of quercetin products were distinctively elevated with increasing UV-B irradiance. (2) Cultivation at high PAR (1,270 µmol m−2 s−1) and low UV-B (UV-BBE 25 mW m−2) resulted in somewhat lower levels of quercetin products compared to the high-UV-BBE conditions, and only a slight increase with increasing UV-B irradiance was observed. On the other hand, when the plants were grown (3) at low PAR (540 µmol m−2 s−1) and high UV-B (UV-BBE 180 mW m−2), the accumulation of quercetin products strongly increased from very low levels with increasing amounts of UV-B but the accumulation of kaempferol derivatives and sinapoyl glucose was less pronounced. We conclude (4) that the accumulation of quercetin products triggered by PAR leads to a basic UV protection that is further increased by UV-B radiation. Based on our data, (5) a combined effect of PAR and different spectral sections of UV radiation is satisfactorily described by a biological weighting function, which again emphasizes the additional role of UV-A (315–400 nm) in UV action on A. thaliana.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Sciences, Research, and the Arts in the program BayForUV.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Author notes

  1. Michael Götz

    Present address: Breun Seeds GdbR, 91074, Herzogenaurach, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Michael Götz, Susanne Stich, Werner Heller, Christian Langebartels & Dieter Ernst

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Andreas Albert, Andreas Krins & Harald K. Seidlitz

  3. Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Biomathematics and Biometry, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    Hagen Scherb

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Correspondence to Dieter Ernst.

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Dedicated to Professor Cornelius Lütz on the occasion of his 65th birthday

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Götz, M., Albert, A., Stich, S. et al. PAR modulation of the UV-dependent levels of flavonoid metabolites in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. leaf rosettes: cumulative effects after a whole vegetative growth period. Protoplasma 243, 95–103 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-009-0064-5

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