A perspective on ecologically relevant plant-UV research and its practical application

Plants perceive ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation through the UV-B photoreceptor UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8), and initiate regulatory responses via associated signalling networks, gene expression and metabolic pathways. Various regulatory adaptations to UV-B radiation enable plants to harvest information about fluctuations in UV-B irradiance and spectral composition in natural environments, and to defend themselves against UV-B exposure. Given that UVR8 is present across plant organs and tissues, knowledge of the systemic signalling involved in its activation and function throughout the plant is important for understanding the context of specific responses. Fine-scale understanding of both UV-B irradiance and perception within tissues and cells requires improved application of knowledge about UV-attenuation in leaves and canopies, warranting greater consideration when designing experiments. In this context, reciprocal crosstalk among photoreceptor-induced pathways also needs to be considered, as this appears to produce particularly complex patterns of physiological and morphological response. Through crosstalk, plant responses to UV-B radiation go beyond simply UV-protection or amelioration of damage, but may give cross-protection over a suite of environmental stressors. Overall, there is emerging knowledge showing how information captured by UVR8 is used to regulate molecular and physiological processes, although understanding of upscaling to higher levels of organisation, i.e. organisms, canopies and communities remains poor. Achieving this will require further studies using model plant species beyond Arabidopsis, and that represent a broad range of functional types. More attention should also be given to plants in natural environments in all their complexity, as such studies are needed to acquire an improved understanding of the impact of climate change in the context of plant-UV responses. Furthermore, broadening the scope of experiments into the regulation of pla
Funding Agencies:Academy of Finland 304519 266523 Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (MINECO) Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) CGL2014-54127-P Polish National Science Centre UMO-2016/22/E/NZ3/00326 UMO-2017/25/B/NZ3/01080 UV4Plants Doctoral Programme in Plant Science of the University of Helsinki Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) 359552155 Region Haute-Normandie GRR-TERA SCALE, UFOSE Project Ghent University Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) G000515N Science Foundation Ireland 16-IA-4418