Countering UV-B stress in plants: Does selenium have a role?

UV-B radiation on plants is now of major concern to plant biologists due to the threat to productivity in global agriculture because of stratospheric ozone depletion. Quantitative and qualitative predictions attempts of expected effects and the search for a suitable ameliorant or a stress alleviant are being met with mixed outcomes. One of the reasons for this is the complications involved in designing UV stress response experements. The study of Heijari et al. in this issue has partially resolved this issue by well designed controls. Although the proportion of UV -B stress countering effects of Se in this study was not enough to meet the criteria of Se as an ameliorant. One of the future challenges to understand Se -plant interaction will be to study its potential essentiality to the plants and to unravel the complete picture of interconversion of the Se species within the plant system.