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Protective pigmentation in UVB‐screened Antarctic lichens studied by Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy: an extremophile bioresponse to radiation stress
Author(s) -
Edwards Howell G. M.,
Cockell Charles S.,
Newton Emma M.,
WynnWilliams David D.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of raman spectroscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.748
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1097-4555
pISSN - 0377-0486
DOI - 10.1002/jrs.1172
Subject(s) - extremophile , lichen , raman spectroscopy , pigment , botany , ultraviolet radiation , chemistry , biology , optics , physics , thermophile , biochemistry , organic chemistry , enzyme , radiochemistry
FT‐Raman spectra were obtained for two Antarctic extremophiles, the epilithic lichens Xanthoria elegans and Caloplaca sublobulata from the maritime ecological long‐term research site on Leonie Island. Twelve specimens from cloches designed for the filtering out and transmission of UVB radiation over a 2 year period and two specimens from the natural habitat outside the cloches were analysed in terms of their characteristic Raman bands from the two photoprotective pigments parietin and β‐carotene. Following chemometric analysis, the specimens inside the UVB‐protective cloches exhibited a lower parietin:β‐carotene ratio than specimens from the same habitat that did not have UVB protection. The relative roles of parietin, a passive UVB photoprotectant, and β‐carotene are discussed and a possible duality of biological function is suggested for these pigments. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.