<smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"> Effect of ultraviolet-B radiation on biochemical composition of three <i style="">Ulva</i> species (Chlorophyta) from southeast coast of India </smarttagtype></smarttagtype>

Abstract

The young plants of <i style="">Ulva fasciata, U. reticulata</i> and <i style="">U. lactuca</i> were subjected to UV–B (320-280 nm) radiation for 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min. The changes in chlorophylls, carotenoids, protein, nitrate contents and reductase activities were studied. Compared to control, in UV exposed plants both pigments and protein concentrations were significantly decreased. The magnitude of such decrease was higher in <i style="">Ulva lactuca</i> than in other two species. In contrast to this <i style="">in vitro</i> nitrate reductase activity was more severely affected in <i style="">Ulva reticulata</i>. The experiments clearly showed that the UV (A & B)-B radiation has a strong inhibitory effects on biochemical properties in all three <i style="">Ulva</i> species. However, the rate of inhibition is dependent on the duration of exposure of plants to UV (A & B)-B radiation.