PHOSPHATE FERTILIZATION AND SHADING ON THE INITIAL GROWTH AND PHOTOCHEMICAL EFFICIENCY OF Campomanesia xanthocarpa O. BERG.

Campomanesia xanthocarpa O. Berg. (“Gabirobeira”, Myrtaceae) is a versatile fruit tree species native in Cerrado. Studies of mineral fertilization and luminous conditions with the species are incipient. Thus, the aim was to evaluate the initial growth and photochemical aspects in C. xanthocarpa cultivated under phosphate fertilization and shading levels. The experiment was carried out in plastic pots and the factors under study consisted of five doses of phosphorus: 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg kg soil-1, and two shadings levels: 0% (full sun) and 50%. The treatments were arranged in a 5 x 2 factorial scheme, in a randomized block design, with four replications. The greatest growth characteristics occurred at 240 days after transplantation. The highest chlorophyll index was seen in shaded leaves. The highest values of variable and maximum chlorophyll-a fluorescence were with 10.8 and 11.6 mg P kg-1 in shaded environments, and with 120.0 and 81.81 mg P kg-1, under full sun. The highest photochemical efficiency in photosystem II (Fv/Fm) was under full sun with 33.33 mg P kg-1. The analysis of main components explained 78.82% of the remaining variability. The shaded C. xanthocarpa plants showed higher photochemical yields with the addition of low phosphorus doses. Phosphate fertilization contributed to the mitigation of photochemical damage in young plants of C. xanthocarpa cultivated under full sun.

Host genotype and stable differences in algal symbiont communities explain patterns of thermal stress response of Montipora capitata following thermal pre-exposure and across multiple bleaching events

As sea surface temperatures increase worldwide due to climate change, coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent and severe, resulting in reef degradation. Leveraging the inherent ability of reef-building corals to acclimatize to thermal stress via pre-exposure to protective temperature treatments may become an important tool in improving the resilience of coral reefs to rapid environmental change. We investigated whether historical bleaching phenotype, coral host genotype, and exposure to protective temperature treatments would affect the response of the Hawaiian coral Montipora capitata to natural thermal stress. Fragments were collected from colonies that demonstrated different bleaching responses during the 2014-2015 event in Kāne’ohe Bay (O’ahu, Hawai’i) and exposed to four different artificial temperature pre-treatments (and a control at ambient temperature). After recovery, fragments experienced a natural thermal stress event either in laboratory conditions or their native reef environment. Response to thermal stress was quantified by measuring changes in the algal symbionts’ photochemical efficiency, community composition, and relative density. Historical bleaching phenotype was reflected in stable differences in symbiont community composition, with historically bleached corals containing only Cladocopium symbionts and historically non-bleached corals having mixed symbiont communities dominated by Durusdinium. Mixed-community corals lost more Cladocopium than Cladocopium-only corals during the natural thermal stress event, and preferentially recovered with Durusdinium. Laboratory pre-treatments exposed corals to more thermal stress than anticipated, causing photochemical damage that varied significantly by genotype. While none of the treatments had a protective effect, temperature variation during treatments had a significant detrimental effect on photochemical efficiency during the thermal stress event. These results show that acclimatization potential is affected by fine-scale differences in temperature regime, host genotype, and relatively stable differences in symbiont community composition that underpin historical bleaching phenotypes in M. capitata.

Mitochondria as Potential Targets and Initiators of the Blue Light Hazard to the Retina

Commercially available white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have an intense emission in the range of blue light, which has raised a range of public concerns about their potential risks as retinal hazards. Distinct from other visible light components, blue light is characterized by short wavelength, high energy, and strong penetration that can reach the retina with relatively little loss in damage potential. Mitochondria are abundant in retinal tissues, giving them relatively high access to blue light, and chromophores, which are enriched in the retina, have many mitochondria able to absorb blue light and induce photochemical effects. Therefore, excessive exposure of the retina to blue light tends to cause ROS accumulation and oxidative stress, which affect the structure and function of the retinal mitochondria and trigger mitochondria-involved death signaling pathways. In this review, we highlight the essential roles of mitochondria in blue light-induced photochemical damage and programmed cell death in the retina, indicate directions for future research and preventive targets in terms of the blue light hazard to the retina, and suggest applying LED devices in a rational way to prevent the blue light hazard.

Binding affinities of folic acid and related pterins with biological macromolecules under physiological conditions

Folic acid and pterin derivatives are important heterocyclic compounds found in a variety of biological systems and have been shown to be photochemically active. Understanding the amount of binding that various pterins have with biological macromolecules under physiological conditions is important in predicting what specific biomolecules will bind with pterins and may, therefore, result in photochemical damage from charge-transfer reactions. The relative binding of folic acid, or pteroyl-L-glutamic acid (PteGlu), 6-methylpterin (Mep), 6-hydroxymethylpterin (Hmp), 6-formylpterin (Fop), and 6-carboxypterin (Cap) with bovine serum albumin (BSA), electrically neutral lipid (ENL), polyguanylic acid (Poly G), polycytidylic acid (Poly C), polyadenylic acid (Poly A), polythymidylic acid (Poly T), Micrococcus luteus DNA (72% GC), Escherichia coli DNA (50% GC), calf thymus DNA (42% GC), and Clostridium perfrigens DNA (27% GC) in neutral phosphate buffer were studied. Our results indicate that PteGlu demonstrated strong binding to neutral lipids, while the other pterins showed minimal binding, and BSA had a significant binding to PteGlu, Cap, and especially Fop. Our results also reveal a high affinity for DNA by PteGlu, which suggests that a relatively high percentage of folic acid is bound to DNA before photochemistry occurs.