Daily UV-supplementation during the plant fruiting stage of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growing indoors may produce fruits with higher nutraceutical value and better acceptance by consumers. However, it is important to ensure that the plant’s performance during this stage is not compromised by the UV supplement. We studied the impact of UV-A (1 and 4 h) and UV-B (2 and 5 min) on the photosynthesis of greenhouse-grown tomato plants during the fruiting/ripening stage. After 30 d of daily irradiation, UV-B and UV-A differently interfered with the photosynthesis. UV-B induced few leaf-necrotic spots, and effects are more evidenced in the stimulation of photosynthetic/protective pigments, meaning a structural effect at the Light-Harvesting Complex. UV-A stimulated flowering/fruiting, paralleled with no visible leaf damages, and the impact on photosynthesis was mostly related to functional changes, in a dose-dependent manner. Both UV-A doses decreased the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), the effective efficiency of photosystem II (ΦPSII), and gas exchange processes, including net carbon assimilation (PN). Transcripts related to Photosystem II (PSII) and RuBisCO were highly stimulated by UV supplementation (mostly UV-A), but the maintenance of the RuBisCO protein levels indicates that some protein is also degraded. Our data suggest that plants supplemented with UV-A activate adaptative mechanisms (including increased transcription of PSII peptides and RuBisCO), and any negative impacts on photosynthesis do not compromise the final carbohydrate balances and plant yield, thus becoming a profitable tool to improve precision agriculture.
Anthropogenic challenges, particularly climate change-associated factors, are strongly impacting the behavior, distribution, and survival of insects. Yet how these changes affect pests such as Drosophila suzukii, a cosmopolitan pest of soft-skinned small fruits, remains poorly understood. This polyphagous pest is chill-susceptible, with cold temperatures causing multiple stresses, including desiccation and starvation, also challenging the immune system. Since the invasion of Europe and the United States of America in 2009, it has been rapidly spreading to several European and American countries (both North and South American) and North African and Asian countries. However, globalization and global warming are allowing an altitudinal and latitudinal expansion of the species, and thus the colonization of colder regions. This review explores how D. suzukii adapts to survive during cold seasons. We focus on overwintering strategies of behavioral adaptations such as migration or sheltering, seasonal polyphenism, reproductive adaptations, as well as metabolic and transcriptomic changes in response to cold. Finally, we discuss how the continuation of climate change may promote the ability of this species to survive and spread, and what mitigation measures could be employed to overcome cold-adapted D. suzukii.
1 July 2018 in Mutation Research - Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis