Does UV-B influence biomass growth in lichens deficient in sun-screening pigments?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Environmental and Experimental Botany |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Botany |
| Keywords | Lobaria pulmonaria; Xanthoria aureola; Melanins; Anthraquinones; UV-B; Temperature |
| Description | This study aimed to assess biomass growth as a response variable in lichens during short-term laboratory experiments. To do this,we studied the influence of UV-B and temperature on lichen performance including the synthesis of solar radiation screening cortical compounds. The pioneer lichen Xanthoria aureola from exposed sea cliffs and the old forest lichen Lobaria pulmonaria were cultivated for 15 days in the laboratory in a factorial experiments with temperature (12 and 21 C) and UV-B (0, 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0Wm-2) as treatments. Growth was not influenced by UV-B alone in these pigment-deficient transplants, suggesting that UV-B had little adverse effects on either of the lichen bionts. In conclusion, lichen growth and the synthesis of protective compounds are highly responsive lichen processes in short-term experiments.The cortical sun screens (parietin and melanic compounds) were synthesized in the presence of UV-B, and increased statistically significantly with increasing UV-B at both cultivation temperatures. |
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