Physiological and molecular evidence of differential short-term heat tolerance in Mediterranean seagrasses.

ABSTRACT: The increase in extreme heat events associated to global warming threatens seagrass ecosystems, likely by affecting key plant physiological processes such as photosynthesis and respiration. Understanding species' ability to acclimate to warming is crucial to better predict their future trends. Here, we study tolerance to warming in two key Mediterranean seagrasses, Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa. Stress responses of shallow and deep plants were followed during and after short-term heat exposure in mesocosms by coupling photo-physiological measures with analysis of expression of photosynthesis and stress-related genes. Contrasting tolerance and capacity to heat acclimation were shown by shallow and deep P. oceanica ecotypes. While shallow plants acclimated through respiratory homeo

SUBMITTER: Marin-Guirao L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4921816 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature