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Photosynthetic and metabolic responses of eelgrass Zostera marina L. to short-term high-temperature exposure

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Abstract

In recent years, extreme heat events have occurred worldwide and the ocean temperature has been rising, causing stress on the photosynthesis and growth of seagrass. Metabolomics enables detection of metabolic changes under environmental stress. In this study, the photosynthetic physiology and metabolic changes of the eelgrass Zostera marina L. in response to 48 h exposure to 32°C were investigated. The results showed that high temperature induced significant inhibition of photosynthetic efficiency (Δ F / F′m ) (23.9% lower than the control), enhanced respiration (58.3% higher), and decreased carbohydrate decomposition products and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediate products, indicating that the energy supply of the eelgrass may be insufficient at high temperature. In addition, high temperature decreased stearic acid and linoleic acid in eelgrass, suggesting the composition of the membrane system of eelgrass may change at high temperature and implying that high temperature may cause the membrane system to be unstable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Yaping Gao & Weiwei Jiang

  2. Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Zengjie Jiang, Meirong Du, Jinghui Fang & Jianguang Fang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yaping Gao & Weiwei Jiang

  4. Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Zengjie Jiang, Meirong Du & Jianguang Fang

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  1. Yaping Gao
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  2. Zengjie Jiang
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  4. Jinghui Fang
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Correspondence to Jianguang Fang.

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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41306117, 41676147, U1405234) and the International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (No. 2016YFE0112600)

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Gao, Y., Jiang, Z., Du, M. et al. Photosynthetic and metabolic responses of eelgrass Zostera marina L. to short-term high-temperature exposure. J. Ocean. Limnol. 37, 199–209 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-019-7319-6

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