Evolutionarily conserved but not indispensable for survival: plastic UVR8 functionality in Marchantia under laboratory and field conditions

The functionality of the UV-B photoreceptor UVR8 (UV RESISTANCE LOCUS8) has widely been demonstrated in angiosperms under controlled conditions, but studies in nature or using bryophytes are scarce. To fill this gap, we compared the UV responses of two genotypes of the model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, the wild type (WT) and a mutant lacking a functional UVR8, to provide for the first time an evolutionary perspective of UVR8 performance in both controlled and field conditions. In the laboratory, UVR8 was essential to induce gene expression (CHS1, FNSI, HY5, SIG5, and ELIP2) and metabolite accumulation (apigenin and luteolin derivatives, particularly apigenin 7-O-glucuronide) in WT plants, contributing to conserve photosynthetic performance. In the mutant, gene and metabolite responses were much weaker, occurred only under high UV-B in a UVR8-independent response, and did not confer photoprotection to the photosynthetic apparatus. In a field seasonal cycle, differences between UV treatments and genotypes were attenuated and the UVR8 functionality was less clear, probably due to the low UV-B levels required to trigger plant responses, and the interaction of other abiotic factors. Given the similarity of UVR8 functionality in M. polymorpha and Arabidopsis thaliana under both controlled and field conditions, UVR8 has been conserved across plant evolution.