Unraveling the Mechanisms of Duckweed Tolerance to UV-B Radiation Stress: Insights Into Adaptive Plant Responses

Overview

Environmental changes, including rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and increasing ozone pollution, continue to alter Earth's atmosphere. Ozone layer depletion leads to increased levels of UV-B radiation reaching Earth's surface. This risks human health, and challenges plant growth and agricultural productivity. UV-B radiation can disrupt photosynthesis, damage DNA, increase the production of harmful reactive oxygen species, and reduce crop yields. Therefore, developing UV-B-tolerant plants is crucial for sustaining agricultural productivity and ensuring global food security. In this study, duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) plantlets were exposed to varying durations of UV-B radiation. After exposure, the plantlets recovered under normal growth conditions and were sampled at 0, 12, and 24 hours for lipidomics and RNA-Seq analysis. Changes in membrane lipids were analyzed using mass spectrometry, and two upregulated genes in response to UV-B stress were functionally characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our results indicate that UV-B stress in duckweed led to the degradation of chloroplast lipids and increased accumulation of triacylglycerols enriched in 18:3 unsaturated fatty acids via active membrane lipid modification. RNA-Seq analysis revealed the upregulation of the suppressor of gamma response 1 (SOG1) and retinoblastoma-related protein (RBR1) genes in UV-B-treated duckweed. The ectopic expression of SOG1 and RBR1 from duckweed in Arabidopsis enhanced tolerance to UV-B stress. Furthermore, these plants exhibited UV-B stress tolerance and normal photosynthesis. These findings provide the foundation for developing UV-B-resistant crops to enhance agricultural resilience and productivity in the face of increasing environmental stressors.

Competition history

• ISEF 2025 Cellular and Molecular Biology · Entry CELL016

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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