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Across-All-Levels Photosynthesis in Polar and Alpine Lichens
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Across-All-Levels Photosynthesis in Polar and Alpine Lichens

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 5320

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Milos Bartak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Biology, Masarykova Univerzita, Brno, Czech Republic
Interests: photosynthesis and stresses in lichens

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photosynthesis in lichens is closely related to the photosynthetic capacity of photo-organisms, namely autotrophic algae and cyanobacteria, which together with fungal partners form lichen association. Lichen photosynthesis in nature is also influenced by a wide variety of co-acting internal and external factors.

The intrathalline localization of photobiological cells, the structure of the photobiological layer, the functional photobiological–fungal interconnection, and the physicochemical properties of the fungal part of the thalli are considered to be important internal features affecting lichen photosynthesis and photosynthetic product utilization. This Special Issue will focus on the primary photosynthetic processes in polar algae, cyanobacteria, lichens and mosses; biophysical methods applied in ecophysiology of autotrophic organisms; lichen photosynthesis, including light–response curves and the photoinhibition and activation of photoprotective mechanisms; and general stress physiology in the autotrophs from polar and alpine regions (photoinhibition, drought stress, subzero temperature) as studied from the subcellular to ecosystem level using a variety of biophysical methods. 

Prof. Dr. Milos Bartak
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antarctic lichens
  • lichen dehydration
  • chlorophyll fluorescence
  • stress tolerance
  • photosynthesis performance
  • low temperature
  • primary photosynthesis
  • photobionts

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 14503 KiB  
Article
The Key Role of Cyclic Electron Flow in the Recovery of Photosynthesis in the Photobiont during Rehydration of the Lichen Cladonia stellaris
by Shuzhi Wang, Wenfeng Li, Rehemanjiang Wufuer, Jia Duo, Liang Pei and Xiangliang Pan
Plants 2023, 12(23), 4011; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12234011 - 29 Nov 2023
Viewed by 605
Abstract
Lichens are poikilohydric organisms and an important part of the ecosystem. They show high desiccation tolerance, but the mechanism of dehydration resistance still needs to be studied. The photosynthesis recovery of the photobiont in rehydrated lichen Cladonia stellaris after 11-year desiccation was investigated by [...] Read more.
Lichens are poikilohydric organisms and an important part of the ecosystem. They show high desiccation tolerance, but the mechanism of dehydration resistance still needs to be studied. The photosynthesis recovery of the photobiont in rehydrated lichen Cladonia stellaris after 11-year desiccation was investigated by simultaneously monitoring both photosystem I and II (PSI and PSII) activities. The responses of the photochemical efficiency and relative electron transport rate (rETR) of PSI and PSII, and the quantum yield of the cyclic electron flow (CEF) were measured using a Dual-PAM-100 system. PSI recovered rapidly, but PSII hardly recovered in C. stellaris during rehydration. The maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) was generally very low and reached about just 0.4 during the rehydration. These results indicated that PSII had restored little and was largely inactivated during rehydration. The quantum yield of PSI recovered quickly to almost 0.9 within 4 h and remained constant at nearly 1 thereafter. The results showed that the activation of the CEF in the early stages of rehydration helped the rapid recovery of PSI. The quantum yield of the CEF made up a considerable fraction of the quantum yield of PSI during rehydration. A regulated excess energy dissipation mechanism and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) also recovered. However, the small extent of the recovery of the NPQ was not enough to dissipate the excess energy during rehydration, which may be responsible for the weak activity of PSII during rehydration. The results indicated that both CEF and NPQ were essential during the rehydration of the photobiont in C. stellaris. The methods used in the measurements of chlorophyll a fluorescence and P700+ absorbance changes in this study provided a speedy and simple way to detect the physiological characteristics of the photobionts of lichen during rehydration. This work improves our understanding of the mechanism behind lichen’s desiccation tolerance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Across-All-Levels Photosynthesis in Polar and Alpine Lichens)
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15 pages, 3703 KiB  
Article
Resistance of Primary Photosynthesis to Photoinhibition in Antarctic Lichen Xanthoria elegans: Photoprotective Mechanisms Activated during a Short Period of High Light Stress
by Miloš Barták, Josef Hájek, Mehmet Gökhan Halıcı, Michaela Bednaříková, Angelica Casanova-Katny, Peter Váczi, Anton Puhovkin, Kumud Bandhu Mishra and Davide Giordano
Plants 2023, 12(12), 2259; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12122259 - 09 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1220
Abstract
The Antarctic lichen, Xanthoria elegans, in its hydrated state has several physiological mechanisms to cope with high light effects on the photosynthetic processes of its photobionts. We aim to investigate the changes in primary photochemical processes of photosystem II in response to [...] Read more.
The Antarctic lichen, Xanthoria elegans, in its hydrated state has several physiological mechanisms to cope with high light effects on the photosynthetic processes of its photobionts. We aim to investigate the changes in primary photochemical processes of photosystem II in response to a short-term photoinhibitory treatment. Several chlorophyll a fluorescence techniques: (1) slow Kautsky kinetics supplemented with quenching mechanism analysis; (2) light response curves of photosynthetic electron transport (ETR); and (3) response curves of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) were used in order to evaluate the phenomenon of photoinhibition of photosynthesis and its consequent recovery. Our findings suggest that X. elegans copes well with short-term high light (HL) stress due to effective photoprotective mechanisms that are activated during the photoinhibitory treatment. The investigations of quenching mechanisms revealed that photoinhibitory quenching (qIt) was a major non-photochemical quenching in HL-treated X. elegans; qIt relaxed rapidly and returned to pre-photoinhibition levels after a 120 min recovery. We conclude that the Antarctic lichen species X. elegans exhibits a high degree of photoinhibition resistance and effective non-photochemical quenching mechanisms. This photoprotective mechanism may help it survive even repeated periods of high light during the early austral summer season, when lichens are moist and physiologically active. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Across-All-Levels Photosynthesis in Polar and Alpine Lichens)
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13 pages, 1400 KiB  
Article
Melanisation in Boreal Lichens Is Accompanied by Variable Changes in Non-Photochemical Quenching
by Nqobile Truelove Ndhlovu, Knut Asbjørn Solhaug, Farida Minibayeva and Richard Peter Beckett
Plants 2022, 11(20), 2726; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11202726 - 15 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1174
Abstract
Lichens often grow in microhabitats where they absorb more light than they can use for fixing carbon, and this excess energy can cause the formation of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS). Lichen mycobionts can reduce ROS formation by synthesizing light-screening pigments such as [...] Read more.
Lichens often grow in microhabitats where they absorb more light than they can use for fixing carbon, and this excess energy can cause the formation of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS). Lichen mycobionts can reduce ROS formation by synthesizing light-screening pigments such as melanins in the upper cortex, while the photobionts can dissipate excess energy radiationlessly using non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). An inherent problem with using fluorimetry techniques to compare NPQ in pale and melanised thalli is that NPQ is normally measured through a variously pigmented upper cortex. Here we used a dissection technique to remove the lower cortices and medullas of Lobaria pulmonaria and Crocodia aurata and then measure NPQ from the underside of the thallus. Results confirmed that NPQ can be satisfactorily assessed with a standard fluorimeter by taking measurement from above using intact thalli. However, photobionts from the bottom of the photobiont layer tend to have slightly lower rates of PSII activity and lower NPQ than those at the top, i.e., display mild “shade” characteristics. Analysis of pale and melanised thalli of other species indicates that NPQ in melanised thalli can be higher, similar or lower than pale thalli, probably depending on the light history of the microhabitat and presence of other tolerance mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Across-All-Levels Photosynthesis in Polar and Alpine Lichens)
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23 pages, 4907 KiB  
Article
Antarctic Lichens under Long-Term Passive Warming: Species-Specific Photochemical Responses to Desiccation and Heat Shock Treatments
by Catalina Marín, Miloš Barták, Götz Palfner, Pablo Vergara-Barros, Francisco Fernandoy, Josef Hájek and Angélica Casanova-Katny
Plants 2022, 11(19), 2463; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192463 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1797
Abstract
Climate warming in the Antarctic tundra will affect locally dominant cryptogams. Being adapted to low temperatures and freezing, little is known about the response of the polar lichens’ primary photochemistry to warming and desiccation. Since 2008, we have monitored the ecophysiological responses of [...] Read more.
Climate warming in the Antarctic tundra will affect locally dominant cryptogams. Being adapted to low temperatures and freezing, little is known about the response of the polar lichens’ primary photochemistry to warming and desiccation. Since 2008, we have monitored the ecophysiological responses of lichens to the future warming scenario during a long-term warming experiment through open top chambers (OTCs) on Fildes Peninsula. We studied the primary photochemical response (potential Fv/Fm and effective efficiency of photosystem II YPSII) of different lichen taxa and morphotypes under desiccation kinetics and heat shock experiments. As lichens grow slowly, to observe changes during warming we methodologically focused on carbon and nitrogen content as well as on the stable isotope ratios. Endemic Himantormia lugubris showed the strongest effect of long-term warming on primary photochemistry, where PSII activity occurred at a lower %RWC inside the OTCs, in addition to higher Fv/Fm values at 30 °C in the heat shock kinetic treatment. In contrast, Usnea aurantiaco-atra did not show any effect of long-term warming but was active at a thallus RWC lower than 10%. Both Cladonia species were most affected by water stress, with Cladonia aff. gracilis showing no significant differences in primary photochemical responses between the warming and the control but a high sensibility to water deficiency, where, at 60% thallus RWC, the photochemical parameters began to decrease. We detected species-specific responses not only to long-term warming, but also to desiccation. On the other hand, the carbon content did not vary significantly among the species or because of the passive warming treatment. Similarly, the nitrogen content showed non-significant variation; however, the C/N ratio was affected, with the strongest C/N decrease in Cladonia borealis. Our results suggest that Antarctic lichens can tolerate warming and high temperature better than desiccation and that climate change may affect these species if it is associated with a decrease in water availability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Across-All-Levels Photosynthesis in Polar and Alpine Lichens)
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