Resistance of Antarctic moss Sanionia uncinata to photoinhibition: chlorophyll fluorescence analysis of samples from the western and eastern coasts of the Antarctic Peninsula

Life under the snow: A year-round transcriptome analysis of Antarctic mosses in natural habitats provides insight into the molecular adaptation of plants under extreme environment

Mosses are vital components of ecosystems, exhibiting remarkable adaptability across diverse habitats from deserts to polar ice caps. Sanionia uncinata (Hedw.) Loeske, a dominant Antarctic moss survives extreme environmental condition through perennial lifecycles involving growth and dormancy alternation. This study explores genetic controls and molecular mechanisms enabling S. uncinata to cope with seasonality of the Antarctic environment. We analysed the seasonal transcriptome dynamics of S. uncinata collected monthly from February 2015 to January 2016 in King George Island, Antarctica. Findings indicate that genes involved in plant growth were predominantly upregulated in Antarctic summer, while those associated with protein synthesis and cell cycle showed marked expression during the winter-to-summer transition. Genes implicated in cellular stress and abscisic acid signalling were highly expressed in winter. Further, validation included a comparison of the Antarctic field transcriptome data with controlled environment simulation of Antarctic summer and winter temperatures, which revealed consistent gene expression patterns in both datasets. This proposes a seasonal gene regulatory model of S. uncinate to understand moss adaptation to extreme environments. Additionally, this data set is a valuable resource for predicting genetic responses to climatic fluctuations, enhancing our knowledge of Antarctic flora's resilience to global climate change.

Photo-protection and photo-inhibition during light induction in Barbula indica and Conocephalum conicum under different light gradients

The objectives of this study were to measure the chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) parameters of Barbula indica (Hook.) Spreng and Conocephalum conicum (L.) Dumort subjected to various light intensities (LI) as a reflection of their adaptability to their habitats. The electron transport rate (ETR) of all plants under 500 μmol m-2 s-1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was significantly higher than other LI treatments, implying that these plants could be grown under a specific and optimal light intensity adapted to 500 PPFD conditions. As LI increased from 50 to 2,000 PPFD, we observed in all plants increased non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and photo-inhibitory quenching (qI) and decreased photosystem II efficiency (ΦPSII), potential quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), actual PSII efficiency (ΔF/Fm'%), and Fv/Fm%. In addition, energy-dependent quenching (qE), the light protection system (qE + qZ + qT), and qI increased as ΦPSII decreased and photo-inhibition% increased under 1000, 1500, and 2000 PPFD conditions, suggesting that these plants had higher photo-protective ability under high LI treatments to maintain higher photosynthetic system performance. B. indica plants remained photochemically active and maintained higher qE under 300, 500, and 1000 PPFD, whereas C. conicum qZ + qT exhibited higher photo-protection under 500, 1000, and 1500 PPFD conditions. These ChlF indices can be used for predicting photosynthetic responses to light induction in different bryophytes and provide a theoretical basis for ecological monitoring.