Experts reveal why plants don’t get sunburn

Experts at the University have discovered how plants know when to make their own sunscreen to protect themselves from the harmful rays of the sun. Scientists have speculated for decades that plants must have a 'photoreceptor' for UV-B wavelengths in sunlight, similar to those they use to detect other wavelengths which control other processes, such as triggering when they flower. UV-B is the most powerful part of the daylight spectrum and is potentially damaging both to humans and plants. Now recognises UV-B light and then switches on changes in a plant's gene expression needed for it to produce its own sun block. Plants need sunlight to harvest light energy and so, are constantly exposed to UV-B. However, plants rarely show signs of damage because they have evolved a way of protecting themselves from the sun's harmful rays by making their own sunscreen and depositing it in the outer tissues of leaves. Gareth Jenkins, Professor of Plant Cell and Molecular Biology at the University and co-author on the paper, described the paper's findings as "groundbreaking".