Light signals generated by vegetation shade facilitate acclimation to low light in shade-avoider plants
Morelli, Luca (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Paulisic, Sandi (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Qin, Wenting (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Iglesias Sánchez, Ariadna (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Roig Villanova, Irma (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Florez-Sarasa, Igor (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Rodríguez Concepción, Manuel (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)
Martínez-García, Jaume F. (Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica)

Date:	2021
Abstract:	When growing in search for light, plants can experience continuous or occasional shading by other plants. Plant proximity causes a decrease in the ratio of R to far-red light (low R:FR) due to the preferential absorbance of R light and reflection of FR light by photosynthetic tissues of neighboring plants. This signal is often perceived before actual shading causes a reduction in photosynthetically active radiation (low PAR). Here, we investigated how several Brassicaceae species from different habitats respond to low R:FR and low PAR in terms of elongation, photosynthesis, and photoacclimation. Shade-tolerant plants such as hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) displayed a good adaptation to low PAR but a poor or null response to low R:FR exposure. In contrast, shade-avoider species, such as Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), showed a weak photosynthetic performance under low PAR but they strongly elongated when exposed to low R:FR. These responses could be genetically uncoupled. Most interestingly, exposure to low R:FR of shade-avoider (but not shade-tolerant) plants improved their photoacclimation to low PAR by triggering changes in photosynthesis-related gene expression, pigment accumulation, and chloroplast ultrastructure. These results indicate that low R:FR signaling unleashes molecular, metabolic, and developmental responses that allow shade-avoider plants (including most crops) to adjust their photosynthetic capacity in anticipation of eventual shading by nearby plants.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PRE2018-083610 European Commission 753301 Agencia Estatal de Investigación BIO2017-85316-R Agencia Estatal de Investigación BIO2017-84041-P Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-1211 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-710 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SEV-2015-0533
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Note:	Altres ajuts: La Caixa Foundation (INPhINIT fellowship LCF/BQ/IN18/11660004)
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Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Plant physiology, Vol. 186, Issue 4 (August 2021) , p. 2137-2151, ISSN 1532-2548

DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiab206
PMID: 34618102

15 p, 1.7 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CRAG (Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles