Abstract

The short-term effects of UV radiation and low temperature on ultrastructure, photosynthetic activity (measured as the maximal photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II: Fv/Fm), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) contents, and UV-absorbing compounds on the carpospores of Iridaea cordata from a sub-Antarctic population were investigated. Exposure to both photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and PAR + UV for 4 h caused ultrastructural modifications in all treatments. Under PAR + UV at 2 °C, a disruption of the chloroplast’s internal organization was observed. Plastoglobuli were often found in carpospores exposed to 2 °C. ‘Electron dense particles’, resembling physodes of brown algae, were detected for the first time in cells exposed to PAR and PAR + UV at 8 °C. Fv/Fm decreased following 4 h exposure at 2 °C under PAR + UV (64%) and PAR (25%). At 8 °C, Fv/Fm declined by 21% only under PAR + UV. The photosynthesis of carpospores previously treated with UV partially recovered after a 4 h exposure under dim light. UV-absorbing compounds were degraded in all radiation and temperature treatments without recovery after a 4 h dim light period. Chl-a did not change, whereas total carotenoids increased under PAR at 8 °C The study indicates that although carpospores of I. cordata exhibit photoprotective mechanisms, UV radiation strongly damages their ultrastructure and physiology, which were exacerbated under low temperatures. © 2024 by the authors.