Rixta Sievers

Doctor of Philosophy, (Agriculture and Horticulture)
Study Completed: 2019
College of Sciences

Citation

Thesis Title
Low fluence UV-B as a positive regulator of photosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Read article at Massey Research Online: MRO icon

Ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation can induce a wide range of developmental responses in plants. High levels of UV-B exposure have been shown to impede photosynthetic performance, whereas low levels have been found to be beneficial to photosynthesis. Ms Sievers measured the photosynthetic rate of plants exposed to UV-B and found that low levels of UV-B exposure increases the photosynthetic rate in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana during the first 24 hours of UV-B exposure. Investigation of the photosynthetic response revealed that the increase in photosynthetic rate is due to the upregulation of a number of photosynthesis-related genes that are regulated by the UV-B photoreceptor UVR8. This further extends our knowledge of UV-B plant response and offers further potential for exploitation of UV-B in agriculture.

Supervisors
Professor Jason Wargent
Associate Professor Paul Dijkwel