Light availability influences the intensity of nectar robbery and its effects on reproduction in a tropical shrub via multiple pathways

AbstractDiurnal rhythms and light availability affect transcription–translation feedback loops that regulate the synthesis of photosynthetic proteins. The CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco is the most abundant protein in the leaves of major crop species and its activity depends on interaction with the molecular chaperone Rubisco activase (Rca). In Triticum aestivum L. (wheat), three Rca isoforms are present that differ in their regulatory properties. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the relative abundance of the redox-sensitive and redox-insensitive Rca isoforms could be differentially regulated throughout light–dark diel cycle in wheat. While TaRca1-β expression was consistently negligible throughout the day, transcript levels of both TaRca2-β and TaRca2-α were higher and increased at the start of the day, with peak levels occurring at the middle of the photoperiod. Abundance of TaRca-β protein was maximal 1.5 h after the peak in TaRca2-β expression, but the abundance of TaRca-α remained constant during the entire photoperiod. The redox-sensitive TaRca-α isoform was less abundant, representing 85% of the redox-insensitive TaRca-β at the transcript level and 12.5% at the protein level. Expression of Rubisco large and small subunit genes did not show a consistent pattern throughout the diel cycle, but the abundance of Rubisco decreased by up to 20% during the dark period in fully expanded wheat leaves. These results, combined with a lack of correlation between transcript and protein abundance for both Rca isoforms and Rubisco throughout the entire diel cycle, suggest that the abundance of these photosynthetic enzymes is post-transcriptionally regulated.

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Intensity and mode of Lindera melissifolia reproduction are affected by flooding and light availability

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.8037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (19) ◽

pp. 13153-13165

Author(s):

Theodor D. Leininger ◽

Emile S. Gardiner ◽

Brian Roy Lockhart ◽

Nathan M. Schiff ◽

Alphus Dan Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Light Availability

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Light environment drives evolution of color vision genes in butterflies and moths

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-01688-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yash Sondhi ◽

Emily A. Ellis ◽

Seth M. Bybee ◽

Jamie C. Theobald ◽

Akito Y. Kawahara

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Color Vision ◽

Light Availability ◽

High Light ◽

Light Environment ◽

Evolution Rate ◽

Animal Evolution ◽

Light Sensing ◽

Rates Of Evolution ◽

Gains And Losses

AbstractOpsins, combined with a chromophore, are the primary light-sensing molecules in animals and are crucial for color vision. Throughout animal evolution, duplications and losses of opsin proteins are common, but it is unclear what is driving these gains and losses. Light availability is implicated, and dim environments are often associated with low opsin diversity and loss. Correlations between high opsin diversity and bright environments, however, are tenuous. To test if increased light availability is associated with opsin diversification, we examined diel niche and identified opsins using transcriptomes and genomes of 175 butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). We found 14 independent opsin duplications associated with bright environments. Estimating their rates of evolution revealed that opsins from diurnal taxa evolve faster—at least 13 amino acids were identified with higher dN/dS rates, with a subset close enough to the chromophore to tune the opsin. These results demonstrate that high light availability increases opsin diversity and evolution rate in Lepidoptera.

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Distribution and Seasonality of Macroalgae on Oyster Communities of Central Chesapeake Bay

Botanica Marina ◽

10.1515/botm-1980-1108 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 23 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Judith L. Connor

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Sexual Reproduction ◽

Chesapeake Bay ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Algal Species ◽

Light Availability ◽

Field Studies ◽

Spatial And Temporal Distributions ◽

Red Algal ◽

Study Sites

AbstractField studies of the benthic macroalgae of fifteen selected Chesapeake Bay oyster communities were conducted over a period of a year (March 1977 to February 1978). Algal distribu tion and seasonal occurrence were studied in relation to changes in the physical environment. Salinity, temperature, and light availability were important factors in the spatial and temporal distributions of algae in these subtidal habitats.Seventeen species of Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta were recorded from the fifteen study sites distributed over 130 kilometers within the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay. Species of Chlorophyta were associated with oyster communities throughout the year of study with maximum numbers of species and maximum biomass occurring in spring. Only once was a member of the Phaeophyta encountered; a single filamentous species, Ectocarpus, was collected during winter. Species of Rhodophyta were present throughout the year at the study sites.Most of the algae collected reproduced asexually by spores and/or vegetative fragments. Sexual reproduction occurred in some of the red algal species. The presence of tetrasporic and cystocarpic plants of Dasya baillouviana and Polysiphonia harveyi var. olneyi may indicate that the usual triphasic Florideophycean life history occurs in this estuary.

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Starch Production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii through Supraoptimal Temperature in a Pilot-Scale Photobioreactor

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10051084 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 1084

Author(s):

Ivan N. Ivanov ◽

Vilém Zachleder ◽

Milada Vítová ◽

Maria J. Barbosa ◽

Kateřina Bišová

Keyword(s):

Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽

Starch Content ◽

Light Availability ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Temperature Treatment ◽

Control Culture ◽

Starch Accumulation ◽

Cellular Division ◽

Starch Production

An increase in temperature can have a profound effect on the cell cycle and cell division in green algae, whereas growth and the synthesis of energy storage compounds are less influenced. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, laboratory experiments have shown that exposure to a supraoptimal temperature (39 °C) causes a complete block of nuclear and cellular division accompanied by an increased accumulation of starch. In this work we explore the potential of supraoptimal temperature as a method to promote starch production in C. reinhardtii in a pilot-scale photobioreactor. The method was successfully applied and resulted in an almost 3-fold increase in the starch content of C. reinhardtii dry matter. Moreover, a maximum starch content at the supraoptimal temperature was reached within 1–2 days, compared with 5 days for the control culture at the optimal temperature (30 °C). Therefore, supraoptimal temperature treatment promotes rapid starch accumulation and suggests a viable alternative to other starch-inducing methods, such as nutrient depletion. Nevertheless, technical challenges, such as bioreactor design and light availability within the culture, still need to be dealt with.

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Quantifying Understory Complexity in Unmanaged Forests Using TLS and Identifying Some of Its Major Drivers

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13081513 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1513

Author(s):

Dominik Seidel ◽

Peter Annighöfer ◽

Christian Ammer ◽

Martin Ehbrecht ◽

Katharina Willim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Laser Scanning ◽

Structural Equation Models ◽

Light Availability ◽

Structural Complexity ◽

Basal Area ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Canopy Openness ◽

Seasonal Precipitation ◽

Wide Range ◽

Precipitation And Temperature

The structural complexity of the understory layer of forests or shrub layer vegetation in open shrublands affects many ecosystem functions and services provided by these ecosystems. We investigated how the basal area of the overstory layer, annual and seasonal precipitation, annual mean temperature, as well as light availability affect the structural complexity of the understory layer along a gradient from closed forests to open shrubland with only scattered trees. Using terrestrial laser scanning data and the understory complexity index (UCI), we measured the structural complexity of sites across a wide range of precipitation and temperature, also covering a gradient in light availability and basal area. We found significant relationships between the UCI and tree basal area as well as canopy openness. Structural equation models (SEMs) confirmed significant direct effects of seasonal precipitation on the UCI without mediation through basal area or canopy openness. However, annual precipitation and temperature effects on the UCI are mediated through canopy openness and basal area, respectively. Understory complexity is, despite clear dependencies on the available light and overall stand density, significantly and directly driven by climatic parameters, particularly the amount of precipitation during the driest month.

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Physiological and ecological consequences of the water optical properties degradation on reef corals

Coral Reefs ◽

10.1007/s00338-021-02133-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tomás López-Londoño ◽

Claudia T. Galindo-Martínez ◽

Kelly Gómez-Campo ◽

Luis A. González-Guerrero ◽

Sofia Roitman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Optical Properties ◽

Population Decline ◽

Light Availability ◽

Potential Effect ◽

Optical Quality ◽

Light Penetration ◽

Reef Corals ◽

Orbicella Faveolata ◽

Light Quantity ◽

Reduced Light

AbstractDegradation of water optical properties due to anthropogenic disturbances is a common phenomenon in coastal waters globally. Although this condition is associated with multiple drivers that affect corals health in multiple ways, its effect on light availability and photosynthetic energy acquisition has been largely neglected. Here, we describe how declining the water optical quality in a coastal reef exposed to a turbid plume of water originating from a man-made channel compromises the functionality of the keystone coral species Orbicella faveolata. We found highly variable water optical conditions with significant effects on the light quantity and quality available for corals. Low-light phenotypes close to theoretical limits of photoacclimation were found at shallow depths as a result of reduced light penetration. The estimated photosynthetically fixed energy depletion with increasing depth was associated with patterns of colony mortality and vertical habitat compression. A numerical model illustrates the potential effect of the progressive water quality degradation on coral mortality and population decline along the depth gradient. Collectively, our findings suggest that preserving the water properties seeking to maximize light penetration through the water column is essential for maintaining the coral reef structure and associated ecosystem services.

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Diatoms in Saline Lakes Paleoclimate and Paleoecology Interpretations

The Paleontological Society Papers ◽

10.1017/s1089332600001510 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 149-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erik J. Ekdahl

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Global Climate ◽

Light Availability ◽

Ionic Concentration ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Environmental Response

Average global temperatures are predicted to rise over the next century and changes in precipitation, humidity, and drought frequency will likely accompany this global warming. Understanding associated changes in continental precipitation and temperature patterns in response to global change is an important component of long-range environmental planning. For example, agricultural management plans that account for decreased precipitation over time will be less susceptible to the effects of drought through implementation of water conservation techniques.A detailed understanding of environmental response to past climate change is key to understanding environmental changes associated with global climate change. To this end, diatoms are sensitive to a variety of limnologic parameters, including nutrient concentration, light availability, and the ionic concentration and composition of the waters that they live in (e.g. salinity). Diatoms from numerous environments have been used to reconstruct paleosalinity levels, which in turn have been used as a proxy records for regional and local paleoprecipitation. Long-term records of salinity or paleoprecipitation are valuable in reconstructing Quaternary paleoclimate, and are important in terms of developing mitigation strategies for future global climate change. High-resolution paleoclimate records are also important in groundtruthing global climate simulations, especially in regions where the consequences of global warming may be severe.

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Mesophotic.org: a repository for scientific information on mesophotic ecosystems

Database ◽

10.1093/database/baz140 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pim Bongaerts ◽

Gonzalo Perez-Rosales ◽

Veronica Z Radice ◽

Gal Eyal ◽

Andrea Gori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Light Availability ◽

Research Community ◽

Future Research ◽

Photosynthetic Organisms ◽

Future Research Directions ◽

Available Information ◽

Reduced Light

Abstract Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) and temperate mesophotic ecosystems (TMEs) occur at depths of roughly 30–150 m depth and are characterized by the presence of photosynthetic organisms despite reduced light availability. Exploration of these ecosystems dates back several decades, but our knowledge remained extremely limited until about a decade ago, when a renewed interest resulted in the establishment of a rapidly growing research community. Here, we present the ‘mesophotic.org’ database, a comprehensive and curated repository of scientific literature on mesophotic ecosystems. Through both manually curated and automatically extracted metadata, the repository facilitates rapid retrieval of available information about particular topics (e.g. taxa or geographic regions), exploration of spatial/temporal trends in research and identification of knowledge gaps. The repository can be queried to comprehensively obtain available data to address large-scale questions and guide future research directions. Overall, the ‘mesophotic.org’ repository provides an independent and open-source platform for the ever-growing research community working on MCEs and TMEs to collate and expedite our understanding of the occurrence, composition and functioning of these ecosystems. Database URL: http://mesophotic.org/

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