Green system of excessive solar protection
2005/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Through photosynthesis, green plants transform solar energy into chemical energy. But, when more energy comes to them than they need, how do they get excess energy to not damage? Researchers from Berkeley, USA, have been studying and the response has been published in the journal Science.
It seems that the key is in the zeaxanthin molecule. Zeaxanthin is a carotenoid whose function is fundamental to protect plant cells from excessive solar energy. In fact, zeaxanthin is the solar energy that will absorb chlorophyll and will not use it at the time. This allows to avoid harmful oxidation processes for plant cells.
In addition, researchers have seen that the plant protection system is really fine. This is because zeaxanthin molecules are generated at the time of their start-up and the system is very sensitive to changes in luminosity: It also detects a change of luminosity caused by a cloud that passes in front of the sun. Specifically, the detector is the change that produces solar energy in the pH of plant cells.
