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The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection
Leaves have evolved to effectively harvest light, and, in parallel, to balance photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation with water losses. At times, leaves must operate under light limiting conditions while at other instances (temporally distant or even within seconds), the same leaves must modulate light...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8309337/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34371656 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10071455 |
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author | Karabourniotis, George Liakopoulos, Georgios Bresta, Panagiota Nikolopoulos, Dimosthenis |
author_facet | Karabourniotis, George Liakopoulos, Georgios Bresta, Panagiota Nikolopoulos, Dimosthenis |
author_sort | Karabourniotis, George |
collection | PubMed |
description | Leaves have evolved to effectively harvest light, and, in parallel, to balance photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation with water losses. At times, leaves must operate under light limiting conditions while at other instances (temporally distant or even within seconds), the same leaves must modulate light capture to avoid photoinhibition and achieve a uniform internal light gradient. The light-harvesting capacity and the photosynthetic performance of a given leaf are both determined by the organization and the properties of its structural elements, with some of these having evolved as adaptations to stressful environments. In this respect, the present review focuses on the optical roles of particular leaf structural elements (the light capture module) while integrating their involvement in other important functional modules. Superficial leaf tissues (epidermis including cuticle) and structures (epidermal appendages such as trichomes) play a crucial role against light interception. The epidermis, together with the cuticle, behaves as a reflector, as a selective UV filter and, in some cases, each epidermal cell acts as a lens focusing light to the interior. Non glandular trichomes reflect a considerable part of the solar radiation and absorb mainly in the UV spectral band. Mesophyll photosynthetic tissues and biominerals are involved in the efficient propagation of light within the mesophyll. Bundle sheath extensions and sclereids transfer light to internal layers of the mesophyll, particularly important in thick and compact leaves or in leaves with a flutter habit. All of the aforementioned structural elements have been typically optimized during evolution for multiple functions, thus offering adaptive advantages in challenging environments. Hence, each particular leaf design incorporates suitable optical traits advantageously and cost-effectively with the other fundamental functions of the leaf. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8309337 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-83093372021-07-25 The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection Karabourniotis, George Liakopoulos, Georgios Bresta, Panagiota Nikolopoulos, Dimosthenis Plants (Basel) Review Leaves have evolved to effectively harvest light, and, in parallel, to balance photosynthetic CO(2) assimilation with water losses. At times, leaves must operate under light limiting conditions while at other instances (temporally distant or even within seconds), the same leaves must modulate light capture to avoid photoinhibition and achieve a uniform internal light gradient. The light-harvesting capacity and the photosynthetic performance of a given leaf are both determined by the organization and the properties of its structural elements, with some of these having evolved as adaptations to stressful environments. In this respect, the present review focuses on the optical roles of particular leaf structural elements (the light capture module) while integrating their involvement in other important functional modules. Superficial leaf tissues (epidermis including cuticle) and structures (epidermal appendages such as trichomes) play a crucial role against light interception. The epidermis, together with the cuticle, behaves as a reflector, as a selective UV filter and, in some cases, each epidermal cell acts as a lens focusing light to the interior. Non glandular trichomes reflect a considerable part of the solar radiation and absorb mainly in the UV spectral band. Mesophyll photosynthetic tissues and biominerals are involved in the efficient propagation of light within the mesophyll. Bundle sheath extensions and sclereids transfer light to internal layers of the mesophyll, particularly important in thick and compact leaves or in leaves with a flutter habit. All of the aforementioned structural elements have been typically optimized during evolution for multiple functions, thus offering adaptive advantages in challenging environments. Hence, each particular leaf design incorporates suitable optical traits advantageously and cost-effectively with the other fundamental functions of the leaf. MDPI 2021-07-15 /pmc/articles/PMC8309337/ /pubmed/34371656 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10071455 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Review Karabourniotis, George Liakopoulos, Georgios Bresta, Panagiota Nikolopoulos, Dimosthenis The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection |
title | The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection |
title_full | The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection |
title_fullStr | The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection |
title_full_unstemmed | The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection |
title_short | The Optical Properties of Leaf Structural Elements and Their Contribution to Photosynthetic Performance and Photoprotection |
title_sort | optical properties of leaf structural elements and their contribution to photosynthetic performance and photoprotection |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8309337/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34371656 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants10071455 |
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