Researchers Find How Plants Heal from Bad Sunburn

Researchers from Washington State University (WSU) led by biologist Helmut Kirchhoff have found the mechanism by which plants heal from the botanical equivalent of a bad sunburn. Kirchhoff said plants are continuously exposed to solar damage. While the process produces energy for plants, it also creates modified oxygen molecules, called reactive oxygen species or ROS, that can damage proteins and other important plant molecules.

Kirchhoff and his colleagues worked on a specialized system of photosynthetic membranes inside the chloroplast, which converts sunlight to energy. The membranes contain sophisticated molecular-scale nanomachines that are the prime target of oxidative damage. Other nanomachines can repair the damage.

Previous studies found that the machines make repairs in multiple steps, with each step dependent on the success of its predecessor. The research team determined that the required order of steps is established by separating different repair proteins from different membrane regions. This compartmentalization is guaranteed by folding of the membrane. This insight could help scientists generate plant mutations with membrane architectures that make more efficient repairs, said Kirchhoff. "It could be good to improve the repair machinery in hot and bright climates," he said.

For more details, read the WSU news release at: https://news.wsu.edu/2014/10/20/wsu-researchers-see-how-plants-optimize-repair/#.VEW19SKUeSo.