An international team of researchers has developed a method for detecting plant sunscreen compounds in
Scientists have developed a method of detection in grainsfossil pollen phenolic compounds that form in the outer walls of plants. Plants require sunlight for photosynthesis, but they must protect themselves, and especially their pollen, from the harmful effects of UV-B radiation, the study authors explain. To protect, plants produce special compounds that act as sunscreen, protect vulnerable cells and ensure successful reproduction.
Pollen sample from the late Permian period. Image: Liu Feng, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology
An illustration of the influence of ultraviolet light on a mass extinction. Image: Conor Haynes-Mannering, University of Nottingham
Examination of fossil pollen grains recoveredin Tibet showed that pollen samples formed during the peak of the Permian mass extinction activity contained the maximum amount of protective phenolic compounds.
Mass extinction at the end of the Permian period (about 250 million years ago)At this time, according to various estimates, up to 80% of all species living on Earth died.Researchers attribute this extinction to a continental-scale volcanic eruption that engulfed much of present-day Siberia.
Volcanic activity has resulted in the release ofatmosphere of a huge amount of carbon that was locked in the bowels of the Earth, which led to large-scale greenhouse warming. This global warming event was accompanied, scientists believe, by the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. The discovery of an increased number of elements aimed at protecting against ultraviolet radiation confirms this hypothesis.
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