Branching of Ceratodon purpureus protonemata effected under altered gravity conditions

Gravi-Sensitivity of Mosses and Their Gravity-Dependent Ontogenetic Adaptations

Gravi-morphoses affect the variability of plants and are the morphogenetic adaptation to different environmental conditions. Gravity-dependent phenotypic plasticity of gametophytes as well as gravi-sensitivity of moss protonemata in microgravity and simulated microgravity conditions are discussed. The moss protonema, a filamentous multicellular system, representing a juvenile stage of moss development, develops as a result of the elongation and division of the apical cell. This apical cell of the protonema is a unique object for research on moss gravi-sensitivity, as graviperception and gravitropic growth occur within the same single cell. Attention is focused on the influence of gravity on bryophyte ontogenesis, including the gravitropic reactivity of moss protonemata, gravi-sensitivity at the stage of leafy shoot development and sporogonium formation, gravity-influenced morphogenesis of apical cell budding, and gravity-dependent spiral growth patterns. The role of gravireceptors in the growth processes of mosses at the cellular level under microgravity conditions are being discussed, as well as the involvement of auxin transport, Ca2+-induced gravitropism and the cytoskeleton in gravitropic reactions.

The role of gravimorphoses in moss adaptation to extreme environment

Gravisensitivity of mosses at different stages of their ontogenesis has an adaptive value and contributes to the functional activity of the gametophyte and its stability under extreme conditions in microhabitats. The aim of our research was to determine the participation of gravimorphoses in the adaptive plasticity of mosses depending on thermal conditions of their habitats and UV radiation effect. The objects of the study were sterile cultures of the following moss protonemata: Weissia tortilis, collected in different thermal conditions of Zaporizhzhya and Lviv regions (Ukraine), Bryum caespiticium from Lviv Region (Ukraine), as well as B. caespiticium and Polytrichum arcticum collected in Antarctica (Galindez Island). In all moss cultures, the gravisensitivity of protonemata, the morphological structure and morphogenesis of stolons were analysed. The protonemata of W. tortilis from two populations in Ukraine and of B. caespiticium from Antarctica and Ukraine, growing under conditions of different UV levels, were compared in terms of their sensitivity to UV radiation. Gravity-dependent morphoses of terrestrial dendrites of W. tortilis under arid conditions, branching of apical cells of gravitropic stolons of Antarctic mosses P. arcticum and B. caespiticium as well as the rapid development of shoots on them demonstrate participation of gravimorphogenesis in adaptation of mosses to stressful environmental conditions. Gravisensitivity and ability to form buds at the apex of a gravitropic stolon are considered an important adaptive morphogenetic process. It has been found that plants of W. tortilis from Zaporizhzhya Region were more resistant to UV irradiation than those from Lviv Region. Antarctic moss after UV irradiation showed significantly higher antioxidants activity and contained larger amount of phenolic compounds and flavonoids.