A plant which acclimatizes with no exterior influence
Monday, November 25, 2013 - 19:20
in Biology & Nature
Plants have a love-hate relationship with sunlight. While some wavelengths are indispensable to them for performing photosynthesis, others, such as UV-B, are deleterious. Therefore, plants are equipped to detect these highly toxic rays and mount their defenses. Biologists have now generated a transgenic plant which acclimatizes constitutively, regardless of the level of UV-B. This plant possesses a constantly active receptor, which endows it with a higher UV resistance, associated with increased flavonoid production, substances which function as a ‘sunscreen’ and as antioxidants.