UV4Plants 5th network meeting in Göttingen, Germany - March 20th-22nd

We are returning to the lab this week, refreshed after joining the 5th UV4Plants networking meeting in the vibrant city of Göttingen. This year saw Professor Suzanne Neugart of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and her fantastic team host a highly successful and thought-provoking event. 

Excited researchers of all career levels gathered during a welcome reception the night before the conference kicked off. The first official day of the conference began with keynote speaker Associate Prof. Ruohe Yin of Shanghai Jiao Tong University leading the discussion on the advances in UV photoreceptors. Fascinating talks ensued where we heard about UV-B signalling in tomato, the phosphorylation of UVR8 and how it modulates protein interactions, and how important UV signalling pathways are in altering flavonoid profiles.  After a quick coffee break, chats, and some snacks we began the next session where Dr. Luis Morales headed the discussions around UV photoreceptors and photoprotection. We heard all about key photoreceptors in the UV response including UVR8, cryptochromes, phototropins and explored the how visible light spectral components affect metabolic profiles of phenolic compounds.

The second day of the conference was just as jam-packed full of exciting discussions. Zooming out of the plant cell and UV signalling, these two sessions focused on adaptation, acclimation and the interaction of UV radiation with other environmental factors. Keynote speakers Dr. Gyula Czègèny of Pècs University and Prof. Pedro Alphalo, University of Helsinki each led a session, where we heard about how plants acclimate to UV through induction of defences, and how we can use these processes to enhance stress tolerance. This is particularly poignant considering the ever-advancing threats the changing climate imposes. Furthermore, we learned about the importance of UV radiation interactions on natural phenomena such as methane emissions from trees and unnatural phenomena including the breakdown of plastics. In fact, during his talk “And now for something different; plants, plastics and UV-B” Prof. Jansen discussed, to the surprise of many, the interactive effects of UV, plants and plastics. Prof. Jansen highlighted the interconnectivity of these topics and helped remind us all why we are working towards a cleaner, safer environment.

Over the three days, we enjoyed many wonderful poster presentations given by MSc and PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and some seasoned professionals including Prof. Pedro Alphalo. Early stage reachers form an integral part of the UV4Plants group and are heavily encouraged to engage, ask questions and present new ideas. In total we saw 17 posters presented from 10 universities. Representing UV work carried out in UCC under Prof. Jansen and Dr. Alan Morrison, PhD student Natalie Cunningham presented our multidisciplinary work and discussed “Morphological responses of photoreceptor mutants to narrowband UV wavelengths, generated using innovative LED devices”. Prizes were given for the best posters and Paulina Calderon Flores of Örebro University came first place for her novel work on the “Nuclear translocation of UVR8 under UV-A radiation”. In second place was Lucia Jasenovska of the Slovak Universitu of Agriculte for her excellent work on the “Screening the effects of UV radiation under LED lighting using fluorescence and imaging techniques”.

Sadly, the conference had to end, and on the final day, Maria Fitzner of the University of Bayreuth opened the first and final session of the day where we discussed the “practical applications of UV radiation”. Maria gave a wonderful overview of the topics we discussed and the overall importance and benefits of UV research with a particular focus on indoor cultivation, before speaking about her fascinating research on halophytes (salt-tolerant plant species). In this session we heard from Prof. Javier Martínez-Abaigar from University of La Rioja about his work on Vitamin D in mushrooms. Although not plant related, everyone listened attentively to Javier’s fun-filled and captivating talk, secretly hoping he brought some Vitamin D-rich mushrooms to pair with some famous Rioja (maybe next year)! Lastly, Dr. Tobias Pöhnl, Göttingen, concluded the session with his intriguing talk about sensory perceptions of UV-treated lettuce!

After a wonderful morning, the group headed on a little excursion around the beautiful and unique city that is Göttingen. We visited the unique Karzer at Göttingen University which was, up until 1933, a student jail where students could be detained for “nonsense of all kinds”. Naturally, students got creative and now you can visit the highly ‘decorated’ student prison for yourself but don’t worry, you are free to leave at any time! A truly enjoyable time was had by all and our team here at UCC are looking forward to attending next time!