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Plant Physiology 144:54-59 (2007) © 2007 American Society of Plant Biologists Solar UV Radiation Drives CO2 Fixation in Marine Phytoplankton: A Double-Edged Sword1Marine Biology Institute, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China (K.G., Y.W., G.L., H.W.); State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China (K.G.); State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China (K.G.); and Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, 9103 Rawson, Chubut, Argentina (V.E.V., E.W.H.)
Photosynthesis by phytoplankton cells in aquatic environments contributes to more than 40% of the global primary production (Behrenfeld et al., 2006
On the other hand, positive effects of UVR, especially of UV-A (315400 nm), have also been reported. UV-A enhances carbon fixation of phytoplankton under reduced (Nilawati et al., 1997
There was a significant photosynthetic carbon fixation (Fig. 1A ) when surface phytoplankton assemblages (collected during summer 2005 and summer 2006) were exposed to solar UVR alone (i.e. when PAR was filtered out). The rate of carbon fixation per unit chlorophyll (Chl) was significant (P < 0.05) even under low levels of UVR (i.e. <5 W m2). UVR-energized CO2 fixation increased linearly with increasing UVR, and it was not saturated at 33.3 W m2 (i.e. about half of the noontime irradiance, about 100 µmol photons m2 s1). The apparent UVR utilization efficiency (i.e. the initial slope of the carbon fixation versus UVR relationship) was about 8 x 103 and 6 x 103 µg C (µg Chl a)1 h1 (µmol photons m2 s1)1 for UV-A and UVR, respectively. The difference in the rate of carbon fixation between samples receiving UV-A + UV-B or merely UV-A was only significant at UVR levels >13.3 W m2, with samples receiving UV-B reducing photosynthesis up to 20% (P < 0.05) at the highest radiation tested (i.e. approximately 25.0 W m2).
The photosynthetic carbon fixation of these phytoplankton assemblages, at the irradiance received at the surface of the ocean, was compared under different weather conditions (i.e. cloudy and sunny days). On cloudy days, UVR + PAR resulted in a significant enhancement of photosynthetic rates, as compared to PAR alone, with a maximum increase of 13% due to UV-A (Fig. 1B, dashed bars) and a decrease of 2% due to UV-B. On sunny days, however, there was a significant decrease in photosynthetic rates by as much as 24% due to UVR (Fig. 1B, white bars), with UV-A and UV-B contributing equally to the observed inhibition.
Photosynthesis versus irradiance (P-E) curves were obtained for these phytoplankton assemblages under solar radiation with or without UVR (Fig. 2A ); positive and negative impacts of UVR were evidenced similarly to those determined during cloudy and sunny days. The apparent light utilization efficiency was 0.078 and 0.046 µg C (µg Chl a)1 h1 (µmol photons m2 s1)1 for samples receiving PAR + UVR or PAR alone, respectively. The maximum photosynthetic rate, however, was approximately 20% lower under UVR + PAR [7.13 µg C (µg Chl a)1 h1] than under PAR alone [8.90 µg C (µg Chl a)1 h1]. The photosynthetic carbon fixation became saturated at PAR irradiances of 135 and 275 µmol photons m2 s1 for samples receiving PAR + UVR or only PAR, respectively. At PAR irradiances lower than 300 µmol photons m2 s1, there was a significant utilization of UVR (P < 0.05), and phytoplankton assemblages had a higher rate of photosynthesis than when samples were exposed only to PAR. On the other hand, at PAR irradiances higher than 680 µmol photons m2 s1, a significant UVR-induced photosynthetic inhibition (P < 0.05) was observed and increased with increasing irradiance.
During sunny days the irradiance levels at depths deeper than 1.7 m were such that photosynthesis was not saturated, and samples receiving UVR had higher daytime carbon fixation than those exposed only to PAR (Fig. 2B). UVR inhibited the daily photosynthetic production by as much as 25% at the surface. On the other hand, during cloudy days the whole water column was below the saturating light level determined from P versus E curves, and, thus, the carbon fixation was higher in the UVR + PAR treatment (white symbols in Fig. 2B) at all depths. The daily primary production integrated for the euphotic zone based on the depth distribution of carbon fixation (Fig. 2B) ranged from 136 to 565 mg C m2 for samples exposed to full solar radiation and from 93 to 528 mg C m2 for samples exposed only to PAR. For all the data points obtained during the summer period, we compared the ratio of integrated production of samples receiving full solar radiation to that of samples receiving only PAR as a function of the daily PAR dose (Fig. 2C). Enhanced photosynthetic efficiency by UVR resulted in up to 46% higher daily primary production under reduced levels of solar radiation (Fig. 2, B and C). Even under the brightest weather conditions, solar UVR could still raise daily primary production by 7% (Fig. 2C). For cloudy days, when photosynthetic carbon fixation was enhanced with UVR (Fig. 1C), daily PAR doses of 4.8 MJ m2 led to approximately 20% higher daily primary production when both PAR and UVR were available for the euphotic zone.
During the study period, microplankton cells (>20 µm) accounted for 18% and 38% of total Chl a concentration (that ranged from 1.12 to approximately 7.79 and 6.79 to approximately 8.50 µg L1 during the summers of 2005 and 2006, respectively). The microplankton species were mainly represented by the diatom genera Chaetoceros, Rhizosolenia, Pseudonitzschia, and Skeletonema, whereas piconanoplankton (<20 µm) was represented by unidentified monads and flagellates. Absorption of the methanolic extracts of the phytoplankton assemblages showed a distinguishable absorption peak between 330 to 340 nm, indicating the presence of UV-absorbing compounds (Fig. 3 ).
Our results demonstrate that solar UV-A can be used for CO2 fixation by tropical marine phytoplankton assemblages as an additional source of energy for photosynthesis, though it occasionally causes photoinhibition in the presence of high PAR levels. UVR-driven carbon fixation would be higher under natural levels of solar radiation since photosynthetic carbon fixation rate was not saturated under approximately half (33.3 W m2, maximum level that the UG11 filter allows) of the incoming noontime UVR (Fig. 1A). However, in the presence of PAR, UVR-induced photoinhibition was significant (P < 0.05) at levels >20 W m2 (corresponding PAR, 680 µmol photons m2 s1 or 147 W m2; Fig. 2A). UVR is known to damage the D1 protein of PSII and to inhibit photosynthesis (Sass et al., 1997 ) for the P versus PAR curve (Fig. 2A) was about 7.7 (5.8) times that for the P versus UVR (UV-A) curves (Fig. 1A). The lower values for UVR reflect its lower efficiency for the carbon fixation. Since pigments and other cellular components absorb UVR and PAR to different extents, they can result in difference in transmission and use efficiencies between them. The value of P versus PAR + UVR curve (Fig. 2A) was about 50% higher than the sum of UVR-related (Fig. 1A) and PAR-related values. This could be related to the interactive effects of PAR and UVR that might not be seen under the respective treatment. Different phytoplankton assemblages collected on different days might also have accounted for the observed difference. Mechanistic thinking about these responses can be directed to: (1) UV-absorbing compounds (mainly, mycosporine-like amino acids [MAAs]) might function as antenna compounds to transfer energy (in addition to their role as protective sunscreens); and (2) enzymes capable for carboxylation or CO2-acquisition processes might be UV-sensitive and stimulated by UVR at low irradiance levels.
UVR can be absorbed by a number of cellular substances, such as proteins and ATP (Kondo et al., 1979
UV-A and blue light are known to signal photoresponses via two types of photoreceptors, cryptochromes and phototropins (Brunner et al., 2000
Phytoplankton cells, circulating up and down by waves or mixing in the ocean, are frequently exposed to reduced levels of solar radiation even at noontime; thus, they tend to be less photoinhibited by high levels of UVR and PAR (due to short exposures) than previously suggested. Because attenuations of PAR and UVR are not the same in any marine habitat so far examined, effects of UVR on primary production could differ between oceanic and coastal waters. Nevertheless, total oceanic primary production in tropical areas could have been previously underestimated for the euphotic zone. Since UVR may affect the new (potentially sedimentable) productivity of the ocean via influencing phytoplankton photosynthesis, the marine biological removal of dissolved inorganic carbon with UVR being considered would add to the oceanic sink of CO2 approximated to date (Sabine et al., 2004
Study Area and Sampling This study was performed in a coastal area of the South China Sea (23°29'N, 117°06'E) during the summers of 2005 and 2006. Surface seawater samples were collected 500 m offshore with a 10-L acid-cleaned (1 N HCl) carboy in the morning and returned to the laboratory (within 15 min) of the Marine Biological Station of Shantou University, where the experiments were carried out as described below.
To determine UVR effects upon phytoplankton assemblages, solar radiation treatments were implemented (duplicate or triplicate) as follows: (1) PAR + UV-A + UV-B uncovered quartz tubes; (2) PAR + UV-A quartz tubes covered with Folex 320 filter (to filter out UV-B); (3) PAR-alone quartz tubes covered with Ultraphan 395 filter (to filter out UVR); (4) UV-A + UV-B quartz tubes covered with UG11 filter (to filter out PAR); (5) UV-A quartz tubes covered with UG11 + Folex 320 filter (to filter out PAR and UV-B); and (6) darkness quartz tubes covered with UG11 filter and Ultraphan 395 (control A) or covered with aluminum foil (control B).
The transmission spectra of the filters Folex 320 (Montagefolie; no. 10155099; Folex) and Ultraphan 395 (UV Opak; Digefra) are given by Figueroa et al. (1997)
To determine the UVR-only impacts on carbon fixation, quartz tubes containing surface seawater were placed in a PAR-opaque box with UG11 filter sandwiched and sealed in the cover. Thus, the P-E curves were obtained in the absence of PAR under no and up to five layers of neutral density screens so that UVR irradiance varied from 53.7 to <1.6%. To calculate the apparent utilization efficiency of UVR, UVR irradiance was converted from W m2 to photon flux by multiplying by 3.02 according to Neale et al. (2001)
Incident solar radiation (UV-B: 280315 nm; UV-A: 315400 nm; PAR: 400700 nm) was continuously monitored using a broadband solar radiometer (ELDONET; Real Time Computer). This instrument measures every second direct and indirect radiation (Ulbrich integrating sphere) and records the averaged data at 1-min intervals (Häder et al., 1999
Photosynthetic carbon-fixation rates were determined as follows: Water samples, pre-filtered by a 180-µm-pore mesh (to eliminate large zooplankton specimens) were dispensed into 20-mL quartz tubes and inoculated with 0.1 mL of 5 µCi (0.185 MBq) of labeled sodium bicarbonate (Amersham). Then the samples were incubated for 3 h centered on local noon to determine photosynthetic rates in a water bath with running surface seawater to control temperature (27°C30°C). After incubation, samples were filtered onto Whatman GF/F glass fiber filters (25 mm), and filters were placed into 20-mL scintillation vials, exposed to HCl fumes overnight, and dried (45°C). Scintillating cocktail (PerkinElmer) were added to the filters and the incorporated 14C counted using a liquid scintillation counter (LS 6500; Beckman Coulter; Holm-Hansen and Helbling, 1995
P versus E curves, under PAR + UVR and PAR only, were obtained on August 6 and 8, 2005, under six light levels. The data for the curves were fitted according to the model of Eilers and Petters (1988)
PP) was estimated over the period (July 1September 30, 2005) according to the P-E curves and time- and depth-integrated models (Behrenfeld and Falkowski, 1997
At the beginning of experiments, samples were taken to determine absorption of methanolic extract, Chl a concentration, and species composition. Two liters of seawater were filtered onto a Whatman GF/F glass fiber filter (47 mm), and then the filtrate was extracted with absolute methanol for 3 h at room temperature. The extract was subsequently determined for the optical density using a scanning spectrophotometer (UV 2501-PC; Shimadzu). Chl a concentration was calculated according to Porra (2002)
The Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test was used to determine significant differences between the estimated parameters (confidence level = 0.05); the correlation between variables were established using a Kendall's
We thank John Raven and Mario Giordano for helpful comments on the data. Received February 23, 2007; accepted March 23, 2007; published May 8, 2007.
1 This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 90411018), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina). The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Kunshan Gao (ksgao{at}stu.edu.cn). www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.107.098491 * Corresponding author; e-mail ksgao{at}stu.edu.cn; fax 867542903977.
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