Collaborative Research: SG: Exploring the effects of UV light on floral pigmentation

植物经历了许多压力，包括极端温度、干旱和紫外线。紫外线对DNA和蛋白质有害。在开花植物中，花粉特别容易受到紫外线的伤害，但花瓣中的深色色素可能通过吸收紫外线来保护花粉。到达地球的紫外线强度在20世纪大大增加，并可能继续增加，特别是在某些地区。该项目探讨了保护性色素沉着是否随着紫外光量的增加而增加。因为花的颜色对吸引传粉者很重要，了解它是如何变化的，对于了解授粉的有效性是如何变化的是必要的。授粉的有效性反过来对许多农作物的经济成功和所有开花植物的生态健康都很重要。该项目还将为来自代表性不足群体的学生提供研究经验和指导，并将通过多种活动的外展活动吸引公众。研究人员将测试一种预测，即UV-B辐射的时间增加会导致花瓣中吸收紫外线的色素的增加。由于在上个世纪，UV-B在极地和温带地区增加最多，他们预测，与亚热带物种相比，极地和温带分布的物种吸收uv色素的增加幅度更大。此外，研究人员将测试这样一种预测，即花粉结构暴露在阳光下的物种会对UV-B的变化做出反应，而花粉结构隐藏在花内（受保护）的物种则不会。研究人员将利用植物标本馆标本和生物气候数据库，收集75个不同地理分布的分类群的花色素沉着和非生物条件数据。他们还将在55年的时间跨度内取样颜色，并将使用比较模型来评估UV-B的快速变化是否引起了花朵颜色的快速变化。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Plants experience many stresses, including extreme temperatures, drought, and ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light is a harmful to DNA and proteins. In flowering plants, pollen is particularly susceptible to UV damage, but dark pigments in flower petals may protect the pollen by absorbing UV light. The intensity of UV light reaching Earth has increased greatly during the 20th century and may continue to increase, especially in some regions. This project explores whether protective pigmentation in flowers has increased in response to increasing amounts of UV light. Because flower color is important for attracting pollinators, understanding how it may have changed is necessary to understand how effectiveness of pollination may also have changed. Pollination effectiveness, in turn, is important for the economic success of many agricultural crops and for the ecological well-being of all flowering plants. This project will also provide research experiences and mentoring for students from underrepresented groups, and will engage the general public through outreach activities at multiple events.Researchers will test the prediction that temporal increases in UV-B radiation have driven increases in UV-absorbing pigmentation in the petals of flowers. Because UV-B has increased most in polar and temperate regions during the last century, they predict that species with polar and temperate distributions will display larger increases in UV-absorbing pigmentation than sub-tropical species. Additionally, the researchers will test the prediction that species with pollen-bearing structures exposed to sunlight will respond to changes in UV-B, while those with pollen structures recessed within the flower (protected) will not. Researchers will use herbarium specimens and bioclimatic databases to gather data on flower pigmentation and abiotic conditions for 75 diverse taxa with different geographic distributions. They will also sample color across a 55-year time span and will use comparative models to assess whether rapid changes in UV-B have elicited rapid change in flower coloration.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.