AOBPreview originally published online on March 6, 2006
Annals of Botany 2006 97(6):933-942; doi:10.1093/aob/mcl044
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INVITED REVIEW |
Sensitivity of Rice to Ultraviolet-B Radiation
Department of Environmental Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan
* For correspondence. E-mail j-hidema{at}ige.tohoku.ac.jp
Received: 14 September 2005 Returned for revision: 15 November 2005 Accepted: 22 December 2005 Published electronically: 6 March 2006
• Background Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer leads to an increase in ultraviolet-B (UVB: 280–320 nm) radiation reaching the earth's surface, and the enhanced solar UVB radiation predicted by atmospheric models will result in reduction of growth and yield of crops in the future. Over the last two decades, extensive studies of the physiological, biochemical and morphological effects of UVB in plants, as well as the mechanisms of UVB resistance, have been carried out.
• Scope In this review, we describe recent research into the mechanisms of UVB resistance in higher plants, with an emphasis on rice (Oryza sativa), one of the world's most important staple food crops. Recent studies have brought to light the following remarkable findings. UV-absorbing compounds accumulating in the epidermal cell layers have traditionally been considered to function as UV filters, and to play an important role in countering the damaging effects of UVB radiation. Although these compounds are effective in reducing cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) induction in plants exposed to a challenge exposure to UVB, certain levels of CPD are maintained constitutively in light conditions containing UVB, regardless of the quantity or presence of visible light. These findings imply that the systems for repairing DNA damage and scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential for plants to grow in light conditions containing UVB.
• Conclusion CPD photolyase activity is a crucial factor determining the differences in UVB sensitivity between rice cultivars. The substitution of one or two bases in the CPD photolyase gene can alter the activity of the enzyme, and the associated resistance of the plant to UVB radiation. These findings open up the possibility, in the near future, of increasing the resistance of rice to UVB radiation, by selective breeding or bioengineering of the genes encoding CPD photolyase.
Key words: Ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB: 280–320 nm), rice (Oryza sativa), cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD), CPD photolyase, reactive oxygen species (ROS), UV-absorbing compounds, UVB resistance, UVB sensitivity, photorepair, dark repair, bioengineering, selective breeding
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