Ultraviolet radiation changes plant color

Plant absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation can result in multiple deleterious effects to plant tissues. As a result, plants have evolved an array of strategies to protect themselves from UV radiation, particularly in the UV-B range (280-320 nm). A common plant response to UV exposure is investment in phenolic compounds that absorb damaging wavelengths of light. However, the inverse phenomenon - plant reflectance of UV to protect plant tissues - has not previously been explored. In a paired experiment, we expose half of our sample (N = 108) of insect-pollinated plants of the cultivar Zinnia Profusion Series to UV radiation, and protect the other half from all light < 400 nm for 42 days, and measure leaf and flower reflectance using spectroscopy. We compare UV-B reflectance in leaves and flowers at the beginning of the experiment or flowering, and after treatment.

We find that plants protected from UV exposure downregulate UV-B reflectance, and that plants exposed to increased levels of UV show trends of increased UV-B reflectance.

Our results indicate that upregulation of UV-B reflecting pigments or structures may be a strategy to protect leaves against highly energetic UV-B radiation.