UVR8 Action Spectrum

Andrew O’Hara visited Prof A. Strid in Sweden for 6 days in June 2011

The purpose of the visit was to produce a detailed action spectrum for a primary light response of the plant UV-B photoreceptor UVR8. The STSM research extended the pilot study undertaken in the previous STSM visit. UVR8 plays a key role in regulating plant photomorphogenic responses to UV-B. However, the mechanism through which UVR8 senses UV-B is unclear and the production of an action spectrum will provide valuable information that will help to understand how it acts in photoreception. Furthermore, it will be possible to determine whether the action spectrum for the UVR8 protein matches that for a response mediated by UVR8 in vivo. Using the excellent tunable laser facility in Professor Strid’s laboratory we were able to illuminate samples at specific wavelengths over a range of doses. We assayed the conversion of UVR8 from its dimeric form to a monomer and were successful in producing a detailed action spectrum for the response.