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Effects of artificial ultraviolet‐B radiation on growth and fatty acid composition of duckweed ( Lemna minor )
Author(s) -
YOUNG D. L. W.,
WIEGAND M. D.,
LOADMAN N. L.,
COLLINS S. A.,
BALLEVONA A. J.,
HUEBNER J. D.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01633.x
Subject(s) - lemna minor , frond , botany , palmitic acid , biology , photosynthetically active radiation , ultraviolet b radiation , fatty acid , lemna gibba , food science , zoology , aquatic plant , ultraviolet radiation , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , photosynthesis , macrophyte , radiochemistry
Summary 1. Duckweed ( Lemna minor ), collected either in summer or early fall was exposed under laboratory conditions to control (photosynthetically active and UV‐A radiation) or experimental (control plus UV‐B radiation) conditions. 2. Growth and survival were determined by counting the number of green, and brown/white fronds following 1–5 or 11 days of irradiation. Growth of duckweed was impaired by exposure to UV‐B radiation in the fall experiment but not in the summer. 3. Fatty acid compositions were analysed following 5 or 11 days of irradiation and a recovery period of 0, 5, 29 or 40 h. Concentrations of the major fatty acids, palmitic, linoleic (LA) and α ‐linolenic (ALA) acids were similar in the summer and fall duckweed collections, but the summer samples had higher concentrations of the desaturation products of LA and ALA. 4. UV‐B exposure had small, but significant, and contrasting effects on duckweed fatty acid concentrations. In the summer experiment, duckweed exposed to UV‐B had slightly lower concentrations of major fatty acids than control duckweed, while the reverse was true in the fall experiments. 5. These minor effects of UV‐B on concentrations of LA and ALA would be unlikely to have a major impact on the supply of these essential fatty acids from duckweed to freshwater food webs.