Journal Reference : Jeanine L. Green, Gareth A. Pearson, Gabriele Procaccini, Carlos M. Duarte, Jeremy Schmutz, Thorsten B. Reusch, Yves Van de Peer. The genome of the seagrass Zostera marina reveals angiosperm adaptation to the sea. Nature , ; DOI: ScienceDaily, 27 January Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Seagrass genome sequence lends insights to salt tolerance. Retrieved November 10, from www. Dead, decaying leaves serve as nutrients for blooms of bacteria and protozoans which provide food for the larvae of oysters and other animals.
Eelgrass beds also provide a staple winter food supply for migratory waterfowl, including sea brant, Canada geese and black ducks. In addition, the densely matted rhizomes play an important role in maintaining the biological productivity of bays and estuaries by trapping nutrient-rich silt, thus preventing it from washing out to sea.
T o appreciate the ecological importance of seagrasses, consider the sudden disappearance of eelgrass beds along the Atlantic coast during the s. An epidemic infestation of the parasitic slime fungus Labyrinthula , called "wasting disease," literally destroyed the rich eelgrass meadows, the results of which were catastrophic.
Populations of cod, shellfish, scallops and crabs were greatly diminished, and the oyster industry was ruined. There was also a serious decline in overwintering populations of Atlantic brant.
Areas formerly covered by dense growths of eelgrass were completely devastated and beaches which had been protected from heavy wave action were now exposed to storms.
Without the stabilizing effects of eelgrass rhizomes, silt spread over gravel bottoms used by smelt and other fish for spawning. This resulted in a decline in waterfowl populations that fed on the fish.
Without the filtering action of eelgrass beds, sewage effluent from rivers caused further water pollution, thus inhibiting the recovery of eelgrass. C ompared to terrestrial flowering plants the seagrasses are not well-known to most naturalists, and yet they play a major role in marine ecosystems.
They are an intriguing and marvelously adapted group of seed plants. What they lack in showy blossoms and fragrant scents they more than make up for by their picturesque habitats, exposed only at low tides when sunlight reveals their emerald green masses.
References Armstrong, W. In their place, these seagrasses have evolved new genes that allow them to add specialised sugars to control salt balance, nutrient uptake and gas exchange to their walls of their cells, and a new form of pollen that works underwater. The work is important on two levels. First, these plants are ubiqutious and provide important habitats and food sources for an abundance of ocean-dwellers. They're also under threat from pollution, marine exploitation and climate change. As the research team highlight in their Nature paper this week, the DNA readout from these plants will enable biologists to develop "sensitive molecular indicators of the physiological status" of the plants, which will in turn help to inform conservation strategies.
More selfishly, the work could also keep humanity fed in future. Not only do these plants produce nutritious, tasty seeds that can be harvested, the close relationship between seagrasses, cereals and rice plants means that the genetic strategies evolved by seagrasses to enable them to survive in seawater that have been identified by this study could be bred into food crops to make them more drought and salt tolerant.
Over time, the steady increase in salts in these soils caused by irrigation processes, as well as the effects of climate change, affect soil productivity and the efficiency of crop growth. Anticipating this need, and breeding plants capable of tolerating this saltier future is a priority. Skip to main content. Sodium chloride induced changes in leaf growth, and pigment and protein contents in two rice cultivars. Montague, C. A possible effect of salinity fluctuation on abundance of benthic vegetation and associated fauna in Northeastern Florida Bay.
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Estuaries 22, — Zimmerman, R. Impacts of CO2 enrichment on productivity and light requirements of eelgrass. Keywords : seagrass, Halophila stipulacea , salinity, Vallisneria americana , seagrass physiology, aquatic plants physiology, photochemistry, invasive seagrass.
The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author s and the copyright owner s are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Introduction Seagrasses order: Alismatales are a unique group of marine flowering plants angiosperms that re-entered the oceans and secondarily colonized marine habitats.
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