Distinct Responses to Light in Plants

Abstract

The development of almost every living organism is, to some extent, regulated by light. When discussing light regulation on biological systems, one is referring to the sun that has long been positioned in the center of the solar system. Through light regulation, all life forms have evolved around the presence of the sun. As soon our planet started to develop an atmospheric shield against most of the detrimental solar UV rays, life invaded land, and in the presence of water, it thrived. Especially for plants, light (solar radiation) is the source of energy that controls a high number of developmental aspects of growth, a process called photomorphogenesis. Once hypocotyls reach soil′s surface, its elongation deaccelerates, and the photosynthetic apparatus is established for an autotrophic growth due to the presence of light. Plants can sense light intensities, light quality, light direction, and light duration through photoreceptors that accurately detect alterations in the spectral composition (UV-B to far-red) and are located throughout the plant. The most well-known mechanism promoted by light occurring on plants is photosynthesis, which converts light energy into carbohydrates. Plants also use light to signal the beginning/end of key developmental processes such as the transition to flowering and dormancy. These two processes are particularly important for plant´s yield, since transition to flowering reduces the duration of the vegetative stage, and for plants growing under temperate or boreal climates, dormancy leads to a complete growth arrest. Understanding how light affects these processes enables plant breeders to produce crops which are able to retard the transition to flowering and avoid dormancy, increasing the yield of the plant.

Influence of Bagging on the Development and Quality of Fruits

“…Light is required for the photosynthetic process that provides the chemical energy needed for plant growth and productivity. Moreover, plant metabolism, gene expression and plant processes (e.g., movement of stomatal guard cells, abscission, mineral absorption, phototropism) are regulated or conditioned by light [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ].…”

Anything New under the Sun? An Update on Modulation of Bioactive Compounds by Different Wavelengths in Agricultural Plants

“…Independently from the light quality and kind of photoreceptor involved in light perception, the downstream event proceeds via a complex network of early signalling factors, central integrators, and final effectors. Please refer to some recent reviews [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] for a detailed summary of the current knowledge of the transcriptional network and mechanisms regulating the response to the different light spectral composition. Interestingly, CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1), which promotes the proteasome-mediates degradation of key factors involved in light signalling, is involved in the response to any light radiation, from UV to far-red wavelengths [ 41 ].…”

Biomass Functions and Carbon Content Variabilities of Natural and Planted Pinus koraiensis in Northeast China

“…The average partitioning proportions of stems (62.9 ± 1.9%) in the natural environment were ~7.0% higher than those found in plantations (56.0 ± 4.4%) due to having ~2 m more in average tree total height across the same ranges of D ( Table 1 ). These results might indicate that the natural Korean pine trees obtained lower light intensities compared to those grown in plantations [ 55 , 56 , 57 ]. As the “functional equilibrium” theory explained that if the limiting factor is located above-ground, plants will relatively allocate more biomass in shoots (i.e., foliage, branch, and stem), and vice versa if the growth limiting factor is located below-ground [ 58 , 59 ].…”