In past decades, meadows of Posidonia oceanica (L) Delile have declined extensively inthe Mediterranean basin mainly due to disturbances associated with reduced light availability. Toinvestigate the molecular mechanisms of photoacclimation in this seagrass, we selected the CHL Pgene as a marker of plant response to light availability because it is involved in the chlorophylltocopherolsbiosynthetic pathways. After characterizing the PoCHL P gene, its expression patternwas analyzed in leaves of plants growing in 2 distinct meadows that were previously categorized asdisturbed and preserved. Plants were sampled during different seasons and light availability wasmonitored in the selected meadows over a 1 yr period. PoCHL P expression was also analyzed inleaves of plants that were exposed to controlled light conditions in aquaria. We found that PoCHL Pwas expressed differentially with respect to leaf developmental stage and that its expression patternchanged rapidly under light conditions far below the compensation value established for P. oceanica.Hence, the recognition of this gene as a reasonable marker of critical light conditions provides animportant step towards the functional characterization of stress-related genes in seagrasses.
In past decades, meadows of Posidonia oceanica (L) Delile have declined extensively inthe Mediterranean basin mainly due to disturbances associated with reduced light availability. Toinvestigate the molecular mechanisms of photoacclimation in this seagrass, we selected the CHL Pgene as a marker of plant response to light availability because it is involved in the chlorophylltocopherolsbiosynthetic pathways. After characterizing the PoCHL P gene, its expression patternwas analyzed in leaves of plants growing in 2 distinct meadows that were previously categorized asdisturbed and preserved. Plants were sampled during different seasons and light availability wasmonitored in the selected meadows over a 1 yr period. PoCHL P expression was also analyzed inleaves of plants that were exposed to controlled light conditions in aquaria. We found that PoCHL Pwas expressed differentially with respect to leaf developmental stage and that its expression patternchanged rapidly under light conditions far below the compensation value established for P. oceanica.Hence, the recognition of this gene as a reasonable marker of critical light conditions provides animportant step towards the functional characterization of stress-related genes in seagrasses.
PoCHL P expression pattern in Posidonia oceanica is related to critical light conditions
Bruno L.;Chiappetta A.;Bitonti M. B.
2010-01-01
Abstract
In past decades, meadows of Posidonia oceanica (L) Delile have declined extensively inthe Mediterranean basin mainly due to disturbances associated with reduced light availability. Toinvestigate the molecular mechanisms of photoacclimation in this seagrass, we selected the CHL Pgene as a marker of plant response to light availability because it is involved in the chlorophylltocopherolsbiosynthetic pathways. After characterizing the PoCHL P gene, its expression patternwas analyzed in leaves of plants growing in 2 distinct meadows that were previously categorized asdisturbed and preserved. Plants were sampled during different seasons and light availability wasmonitored in the selected meadows over a 1 yr period. PoCHL P expression was also analyzed inleaves of plants that were exposed to controlled light conditions in aquaria. We found that PoCHL Pwas expressed differentially with respect to leaf developmental stage and that its expression patternchanged rapidly under light conditions far below the compensation value established for P. oceanica.Hence, the recognition of this gene as a reasonable marker of critical light conditions provides animportant step towards the functional characterization of stress-related genes in seagrasses.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
