Premium
Ultraviolet radiation drives methane emissions from terrestrial plant pectins
Author(s) -
McLeod Andy R.,
Fry Stephen C.,
Loake Gary J.,
Messenger David J.,
Reay David S.,
Smith Keith A.,
Yun ByungWook
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02571.x
Subject(s) - nicotiana tabacum , chemistry , singlet oxygen , pectin , methane , botany , reactive oxygen species , oxygen , horticulture , food science , environmental chemistry , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , gene
Summary• Recent studies demonstrating an in situ formation of methane (CH 4 ) within foliage and separate observations that soil‐derived CH 4 can be released from the stems of trees have continued the debate about the role of vegetation in CH 4 emissions to the atmosphere. Here, a study of the role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the formation of CH 4 and other trace gases from plant pectins in vitro and from leaves of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ) in planta is reported. • Plant pectins were investigated for CH 4 production under UV irradiation before and after de‐methylesterification and with and without the singlet oxygen scavenger 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO). Leaves of tobacco were also investigated under UV irradiation and following leaf infiltration with the singlet oxygen generator rose bengal or the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae.• Results demonstrated production of CH 4 , ethane and ethylene from pectins and from tobacco leaves following all treatments, that methyl‐ester groups of pectin are a source of CH 4 , and that reactive oxygen species (ROS) arising from environmental stresses have a potential role in mechanisms of CH 4 formation. • Rates of CH 4 production were lower than those previously reported for intact plants in sunlight but the results clearly show that foliage can emit CH 4 under aerobic conditions.