A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds
Abstract Red light activates phytochrome photoreceptors, which mediate such key developmental steps as germination and seedling photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. To examine the details of these responses, we developed a novel experimental system and demonstrated that brief, high-intensity...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11183-8 |
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| author | Csenger Márk Szabó Botond Bán Borbála Sinka Bálint Tóth Barnabás Gilicze Imre Seres János Bohus Attila Ébert Péter Borbély Zsolt Gulyás Gábor Galiba Eva Darko Miklós Hovári Béla Hopp Csaba Péter Károly Mogyorósi András Viczián |
| author_facet | Csenger Márk Szabó Botond Bán Borbála Sinka Bálint Tóth Barnabás Gilicze Imre Seres János Bohus Attila Ébert Péter Borbély Zsolt Gulyás Gábor Galiba Eva Darko Miklós Hovári Béla Hopp Csaba Péter Károly Mogyorósi András Viczián |
| author_sort | Csenger Márk Szabó |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Red light activates phytochrome photoreceptors, which mediate such key developmental steps as germination and seedling photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. To examine the details of these responses, we developed a novel experimental system and demonstrated that brief, high-intensity light pulses can elicit sustained physiological responses. We observed that the seeds responded to the femtosecond laser light pulses, but with lower sensitivity compared with continuous light sources having the same average fluence. We concluded that (i) phytochrome B photoreceptors within imbibed seeds efficiently absorb red and far-red photons from pulsed femtosecond laser pulses, with absorption occurring during approximately 10 orders of magnitude shorter amount of time than with conventional light sources; (ii) these treatments did not induce adverse effects during later plant development; and (iii) the effect of ultrashort light pulses in planta coincides with phytochrome photoconversion characteristics described during in vitro studies. Our findings demonstrate that seed germination and photomorphogenic development can be effectively triggered by light, regardless of whether it is delivered continuously or within extremely brief pulses. This research expands the potential applications of femtosecond laser technology and demonstrates the feasibility of investigating the effects of ultrafast physical phenomena on biological processes in vivo using diverse biological readouts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5b68a132883b4fb791f3f3061d55d2e6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-5b68a132883b4fb791f3f3061d55d2e62025-08-20T03:45:53ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-11183-8A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seedsCsenger Márk Szabó0Botond Bán1Borbála Sinka2Bálint Tóth3Barnabás Gilicze4Imre Seres5János Bohus6Attila Ébert7Péter Borbély8Zsolt Gulyás9Gábor Galiba10Eva Darko11Miklós Hovári12Béla Hopp13Csaba Péter14Károly Mogyorósi15András Viczián16The Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityDepartment of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of SzegedDepartment of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of SzegedThe Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityThe Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityThe Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityThe Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityThe Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityAgricultural Institute, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural ResearchAgricultural Institute, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural ResearchAgricultural Institute, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural ResearchAgricultural Institute, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural ResearchPlant Stress and Phenomics Group, Institute of Plant Biology, HUN-REN Biological Research CentreDepartment of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of SzegedLaboratory of Photo and Chronobiology, Institute of Plant Biology, HUN-REN Biological Research CentreThe Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC | ALPS FacilityLaboratory of Photo and Chronobiology, Institute of Plant Biology, HUN-REN Biological Research CentreAbstract Red light activates phytochrome photoreceptors, which mediate such key developmental steps as germination and seedling photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. To examine the details of these responses, we developed a novel experimental system and demonstrated that brief, high-intensity light pulses can elicit sustained physiological responses. We observed that the seeds responded to the femtosecond laser light pulses, but with lower sensitivity compared with continuous light sources having the same average fluence. We concluded that (i) phytochrome B photoreceptors within imbibed seeds efficiently absorb red and far-red photons from pulsed femtosecond laser pulses, with absorption occurring during approximately 10 orders of magnitude shorter amount of time than with conventional light sources; (ii) these treatments did not induce adverse effects during later plant development; and (iii) the effect of ultrashort light pulses in planta coincides with phytochrome photoconversion characteristics described during in vitro studies. Our findings demonstrate that seed germination and photomorphogenic development can be effectively triggered by light, regardless of whether it is delivered continuously or within extremely brief pulses. This research expands the potential applications of femtosecond laser technology and demonstrates the feasibility of investigating the effects of ultrafast physical phenomena on biological processes in vivo using diverse biological readouts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11183-8Femtosecond pulsed laserGerminationPlant phenotypingPhotomorphogenesisPhytochrome BUltrafast photoswitch |
| spellingShingle | Csenger Márk Szabó Botond Bán Borbála Sinka Bálint Tóth Barnabás Gilicze Imre Seres János Bohus Attila Ébert Péter Borbély Zsolt Gulyás Gábor Galiba Eva Darko Miklós Hovári Béla Hopp Csaba Péter Károly Mogyorósi András Viczián A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds Scientific Reports Femtosecond pulsed laser Germination Plant phenotyping Photomorphogenesis Phytochrome B Ultrafast photoswitch |
| title | A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds |
| title_full | A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds |
| title_fullStr | A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds |
| title_short | A comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds |
| title_sort | comparative study of femtosecond pulsed and continuous wave lasers on physiological responses through activation of phytochromes in seeds |
| topic | Femtosecond pulsed laser Germination Plant phenotyping Photomorphogenesis Phytochrome B Ultrafast photoswitch |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11183-8 |
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