Oral Presentation 18th International Congress on Photobiology 2024

Integrating plant fluorescence, photosynthesis dynamics and the surveillance of chemical risk in the environment (#192)

María Gabriela Lagorio 1 2
  1. Department of Inorganic, Analytical and Physical Chemistry. , University of Buenos Aires. Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  2. INQUIMAE, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

In this talk, I will explore the combination of rapid in situ photochemical early warning methodologies with specific biomarker-based methods and off-site determinations for the surveillance of chemical risk in the environment.

               I will highlight how chlorophyll fluorescence can be used as an effective tool for early detection of contaminants in the environment. These techniques, being rapid and non-destructive, offer the advantage of being performed directly in the field, alerting us to the presence of pollutants before identifying their specific chemical nature. The starting hypotheses are the following: the toxic chemicals affect the photosynthesis dynamics and pigment content of plants. Changes in photosynthesis efficiency will lead to modifications in chlorophyll fluorescence, whereas variations in pigment concentration will affect the plant reflectance. Since alterations in spectroscopic or optical signals emerging from vegetation, may be easily observed in non-destructive way, they offer a convenient and non-invasive tool to rapidly detect disturbances in plant physiology due to pollutants.

 

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               In addition, I will discuss how these early warning techniques can be complemented with the determination of contaminant-specific biomarkers by performing more detailed analyses in the laboratory. I will present concrete examples of plant systems designed to detect the presence of organophosphates, known acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, in the environment. These pesticides affect the central nervous system of animals, and the implementation of natural plants as sentinels could provide essential early warning.

               I will show how optical methodologies can be complemented with specific and novel electroanalytical methods to quantify the toxic chemicals through the quantification of Acetylcholinesterase inactivation.

Acknowledgements: University of Buenos Aires, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.