Abstract
Due to global warming, invasive species have spread across the world. We therefore studied the impact of short-term (1 day or 2 days) and longer (7 days) heat stress on photosynthesis and secondary metabolites in Heracleum sosnowskyi, one of the important invasive species in the European Union. H. sosnowskyi leaves exposed to short-term heat stress (35 °C/1 d) showed a decrease in chlorophyll and maximum potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) compared to control, 35 °C/2 d, or 30 °C/7 d treatments. In turn, the high level of lipid peroxidation and increased H2O2 accumulation indicated that the 30 °C/7 d stress induced oxidative damage. The contents of xanthotoxin and bergapten were elevated in the 2 d and 7 d treatments, while isopimpinellin was detected only in the heat-stressed plants. Additionally, the levels of free proline and anthocyanins significantly increased in response to high temperature, with a substantially higher increase in the 7 d (30 °C) treatment. The results indicate that the accumulation of proline, anthocyanins, and furanocoumarins, but not of phenolic acids or flavonols, contributes to protection of H. sosnowskyi plants against heat stress. Further studies could focus on the suppression of these metabolites to suppress the spread of this invasive species.
Highlights
Two of the greatest threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are species invasions and global climate change [1]
Under longer exposure (≥2 d), both chlorophyll forms and carotenoids had a clear tendency to elevate above the level achieved at the shortest time of stress exposure
We proved that high temperature influencing the content of photosynthetic pigments and chl a fluorescence can have an effect on the thylakoid membrane with PSII photochemistry, which is in agreement with other findings [7,23]
Summary
Two of the greatest threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are species invasions and global climate change [1]. Climate change and invasions may interact, with climate-change conditions favoring and, facilitating the spread of non-native species [2]. The mechanism underlying the interaction between climate change and biological invasions, remains unclear. One of the fundamental questions in invasion ecology is the issue of what makes an invading species successful. In order for invaders to become established in a recipient environment, they must first pass through the “ecological filter” of the environment [3]. Temperature is often regarded as the most important abiotic factor in determining species distribution owing to its impact on biochemical and cellular processes, which, in turn, affect organismal performance [4,5]
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