Effect of high light and desiccation on photosystem II in the seedlings and mature plants of tropical seagrass <i>Enhalus acoroides</i> during low tide -- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2023,41(1):241-250

	Cite this paper:
	Xingkai CHE, Hu LI, Litao ZHANG, Jianguo LIU. Effect of high light and desiccation on photosystem II in the seedlings and mature plants of tropical seagrass Enhalus acoroides during low tide[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2023, 41(1): 241-250

Effect of high light and desiccation on photosystem II in the seedlings and mature plants of tropical seagrass Enhalus acoroides during low tide

Xingkai CHE¹, Hu LI¹, Litao ZHANG^1,2, Jianguo LIU^1,2

1 CAS and Shandong Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;
2 Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, China

Abstract:

During low tide, the intertidal seagrass Enhalus acoroides is often exposed to high light and desiccation, which can seriously threaten its survival, at least partly by inhibiting photosystem II (PSII) activity. The response of leaves of E. acoroides to high light and desiccation was compared for seedlings and mature plants. Results show that the resistance of seedling and mature leaves to high light was quite similar, but to desiccation was very different. Seedling leaves were more sensitive to desiccation than the mature plant leaves, but had better water retention. The damage of desiccation to seedling leaves was mainly caused by dehydration, whereas that to mature plant leaves was caused by hypersaline toxicity. The recovery rate of PSII of seedling leaves was significantly slower than that of the mature plants after the stresses disappeared, which may at least partly contribute to seedling mortality in the wild. In addition, compared to high light, desiccation seriously inhibited the recovery rate of PSII activities even if the leaves became fully rehydrated to their normal relative water content (RWC) in the following re-immersion. Desiccation inhibited the recovery rate of RC/CS_M (reaction center per cross section (at t=t_{F_m})) to decrease the production of assimilatory power, which maybe the cause of the slower PSII recovery in desiccation treatments. This study demonstrates that desiccation particularly coupling with high light have a very negative effect on the PSII of E. acoroides during low tide and the sensitivity of seedlings and mature plants to desiccation is significantly different, which have important reference significance to choose an appropriate transplanting depth where seedlings and mature plants of E. acoroides not only receive sufficient light for growth, but also that minimize desiccation stress during low tide.

Key words: Enhalus acoroides|high light|desiccation|photosystem II

Received: 2021-06-14 Revised:

Tools

PDF (1227 KB) Free

Print this page

Add to favorites

Email this article to others

Authors

Articles by Xingkai CHE

Articles by Hu LI

Articles by Litao ZHANG

Articles by Jianguo LIU

References:
Björk M, Uku J, Weil A, Beer S. 1999. Photosynthetic tolerances to desiccation of tropical intertidal seagrasses.Marine Ecology Progress Series, 191: 121-126.
Burnell O W, Connell S D, Irving A D, Watling J R, Russell B D. 2014. Contemporary reliance on bicarbonate acquisition predicts increased growth of seagrass Amphibolis antarctica in a high-CO₂ world. Conservation Physiology, 2(1): cou052.
Duarte C M. 1991. Seagrass depth limits. Aquatic Botany, 40(4): 363-377.
Erftemeijer P L A, Herman P M J. 1994. Seasonal changes in environmental variables, biomass, production and nutrient contents in two contrasting tropical intertidal seagrass beds in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Oecologia, 99(1): 45-59.
Erftemeijer P L A, Lewis III R R R. 2006. Environmental impacts of dredging on seagrasses: a review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 52(12): 1553-1572.
Invers O, Zimmerman R C, Alberte R S, Pérez M, Romero J. 2011. Inorganic carbon sources for seagrass photosynthesis:an experimental evaluation of bicarbonate use in species inhabiting temperate waters. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 265(2): 203-217.
Irawan A. 2018. Transplantation of Enhalus acoroides on a sedimentary beach in Ambon Bay. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 118: 012054.
Jiang Z J, Huang X P, Zhang J P, Zhou C Y, Lian Z L, Ni Z X. 2014. The effects of air exposure on the desiccation rate and photosynthetic activity of Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides. Marine Biology, 161(5): 1051-1061.
Jiang Z J, Huang X P, Zhang J P. 2013. Dynamics of nonstructural carbohydrates in seagrass Thalassia hemprichii and its response to shading. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 32(8): 61-67.
Kaewsrikhaw R, Ritchie R J, Prathep A. 2016. Variations of tidal exposures and seasons on growth, morphology, anatomy and physiology of the seagrass Halophila ovalis(R. Br.) Hook. f. in a seagrass bed in Trang Province, Southern Thailand. Aquatic Botany, 130: 11-20.
Kendrick G A, Orth R J, Statton J, Hovey R, Montoya L R, Lowe R J, Krauss S L, Sinclair E A. 2017. Demographic and genetic connectivity: the role and consequences of reproduction, dispersal and recruitment in seagrasses.Biological Reviews, 92(2): 921-938.
Li H, Liu J G, Che X K. 2021. Establishing healthy seedlings of Enhalus acoroides for the tropical seagrass restoration.Journal of Environmental Management, 286: 112200.
Nishiyama Y, Allakhverdiev S I, Murata N. 2011. Protein synthesis is the primary target of reactive oxygen species in the photoinhibition of photosystem II. Physiologia Plantarum, 142(1): 35-46.
Orth R J, Carruthers T J B, Dennison W C, Duarte C M, Fourqurean J W, Heck K L, Hughes A R, Kendrick G A, Kenworthy W J, Olyarnik S, Short F T, Waycott M, Williams S L. 2006a. A global crisis for seagrass ecosystems. Bioscience, 56(12): 987-996.
Orth R J, Luckenbach M L, Marion S R, Moore K A, Wilcox D J. 2006b. Seagrass recovery in the Delmarva coastal bays, USA. Aquatic Botany, 84(1): 26-36.
Ralph P J, Durako M J, Enríquez S, Collier C J, Doblin M A. 2007. Impact of light limitation on seagrasses. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 350(1-2):176-193.
Sandoval-Gil J M, Ruiz J M, Marín-Guirao L, BernardeauEsteller J, Sánchez-Lizaso J L. 2014. Ecophysiological plasticity of shallow and deep populations of the Mediterranean seagrasses Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa in response to hypersaline stress.Marine Environmental Research, 95: 39-61.
Schubert N, Colombo-Pallota M F, Enríquez S. 2015. Leaf and canopy scale characterization of the photoprotective response to high-light stress of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum. Limnology and Oceanography, 60(1): 286-302.
Seddon S, Connolly R M, Edyvane K S. 2000. Large-scale seagrass dieback in northern Spencer Gulf, South Australia. Aquatic Botany, 66(4): 297-310.
Shafer D J, Sherman T D, Wyllie-Echeverria S. 2007. Do desiccation tolerances control the vertical distribution of intertidal seagrasses? Aquatic Botany, 87(2): 161-166.
Short F T, Polidoro B, Livingstone S R, Carpenter K E, Bandeira S, Bujang J S, Calumpong H P, Carruthers T J B, Coles R G, Dennison W C, Erftemeijer P L A, Fortes M D, Freeman A S, Jagtap T G, Kamal A H M, Kendrick G A, Judson Kenworthy W, La Nafie Y A, Nasution I M, Orth R J, Prathep A, Sanciangco J C, van Tussenbroek B, Vergara S G, Waycott M, Zieman J C. 2011. Extinction risk assessment of the world’s seagrass species. Biological Conservation, 144(7): 1961-1971.
Stapel J, Manuntun R, Hemminga M A. 1997. Biomass loss and nutrient redistribution in an Indonesian Thalassia hemprichii seagrass bed following seasonal low tide exposure during daylight. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 148: 251-262.
Strasser B J, Strasser R J. 1995. Measuring fast fluorescence transients to address environmental questions: the JIP test. In: Mathis P ed. Photosynthesis: from Light to Biosphere.Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht. p.977-980.
Tanaka Y, Nakaoka M. 2004. Emergence stress and morphological constraints affect the species distribution and growth of subtropical intertidal seagrasses. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 284: 117-131.
Unsworth R K F, Rasheed M A, Chartrand K M, Roelofs A J. 2012. Solar Radiation and tidal exposure as environmental drivers of Enhalus acoroides dominated seagrass meadows. PLoS One, 7(3): e34133.
van Katwijk M M, Bos A R, de Jonge V N, Hanssen L S A M, Hermus D C R, de Jong D J. 2009. Guidelines for seagrass restoration: importance of habitat selection and donor population, spreading of risks, and ecosystem engineering effects. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 58(2):179-188.
Yan X F, Wang Y, Li Y M. 2007. Plant secondary metabolism and its response to environment. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 27(6): 2554-2562. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Yang D T, Yang C Y. 2009. Detection of seagrass distribution changes from 1991 to 2006 in Xincun Bay, Hainan, with satellite remote sensing. Sensors, 9(2): 830-844.
Yu S, Liu S L, Jiang K, Zhang J P, Jiang Z J, Wu Y C, Huang C, Zhao C Y, Huang X P, Trevathan-Tackett S M. 2018. Population genetic structure of the threatened tropical seagrass Enhalus acoroides in Hainan Island, China.Aquatic Botany, 150: 64-70.