New discovery of sunscreen-like chemicals in fossil plants reveals UV radiation played a part in mass extinction events. New research has uncovered that pollen preserved in 250 million-year-old rocks contain compounds that function like sunscreen, these are produced by plants to protect them from
Alisporites tenuicorpus the pollen grain used in this work. Note a human hair is approximately 70µm so the samples analyzed are about half the width of a human hair. Credit: Prof Liu Feng from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology
New research has uncovered that pollen preserved in 250 million-year-old rocks contain compounds that function like sunscreen, these are produced by plants to protect them from harmful ultraviolet radiation. The findings suggest that a pulse of UV-B played an important part in the end Permian mass extinction event.
but need to protect themselves and particularly their pollen against the harmful effects of UV-B radiation. To do so, plants load the outer walls of pollen grains with compounds that function like sunscreen to protect the vulnerable cells to ensure successful reproduction.” Elevated UV-B levels can have even further-reaching and longer-lasting impacts on the entire Earth System. Recent modeling studies have demonstrated that elevated UV-B stress reduces plant biomass and terrestrial carbon storage, which would exacerbate global warming. The increased concentration of phenolic compounds also makes plant tissue less easily digestible, making a hostile environment even more challenging for herbivores.
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