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Geras'kin S. Plant adaptation to ionizing radiation: Mechanisms and patterns. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 916:170201. [PMID: 38246389 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Adaptation to environmental stressors is an essential property of plants that allows them, despite an immobile lifestyle, to survive in a changeable environment. The chain of successive events culminating in the final radiobiological reaction begins with the absorption of energy of ionizing radiation in the cell. Starting from stochastic acts of molecular injury formation, radiation damage gradually acquires deterministic features, which are expressed in a limited number of phenomena that complete plant radiation damage. As plants undergo specialization, the differences between plants and animals become more pronounced, leading to distinct responses to radiation. Chronic radiation exposure may activate biological mechanisms resulting in increased radioresistance of the population. The higher the level of radiation exposure and the sensitivity of plants to radiation, the more intensive the selection. Depending on the circumstances, enhanced radioresistance of a population can be achieved in different ways or has not evolved at all. High dose rates of chronic irradiation leаd to selection for the efficiency of repair systems, while low dose rates activate epigenetic mechanisms that lead to the maintenance of oxidative balance, additional synthesis of chaperones, and control of TEs transposition. Due to huge differences in the radiosensitivity of organisms that make up the ecosystem, irradiation can result in disruption of connections between components of ecosystems which may lead to consequences that can differ drastically from those expected at the organismal and population levels. Therefore, the use of ecological knowledge is essential for understanding the responses of populations and ecosystems to radiation exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislav Geras'kin
- Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology of NRC "Kurchatov Institute", Kievskoe shosse, 109 km, Obninsk, Kaluga Region 249032, Russia.
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Geras'kin S, Minkenova K, Perevolotsky A, Baigazinov Z, Perevolotskaya T. Threshold dose rates for the cytogenetic effects in crested hairgrass populations from the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 416:125817. [PMID: 33865108 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
An assessment of cytogenetic effects in crested hairgrass (Koeleria gracilis Pers.) populations was carried out within the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (Kazakhstan) where combat radioactive substances were tested in 1953-1957. Current levels of radioactive contamination within this site are varied by orders of magnitude, while soil characteristics and heavy metal pollution are similar. The main contribution to the absorbed by plants doses at this site was caused by incorporated 90Sr. The frequency of cytogenetic alterations in crested hairgrass was investigated in a wide range of doses (10-4-13 Gy/growing season) at 100 sampling points. For the first time in the field conditions the shape of the cytogenetic effects - dose rate relationship was evaluated with acceptable accuracy and found to be nonlinear. The frequency of aberrant cells remained practically unchanged up to 49 µGy/h. Exceeding the threshold dose rate lead to a steep increase in the aberrant cells frequency from less than 2% up to 16%. The main contribution to the cytogenetic effects was made by double bridges and fragments. Breakpoints for other types of cytogenetic alterations were also evaluated (7 µGy/h for single fragments and bridges; 74 for double fragments and bridges; 81 for mitotic abnormalities).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislav Geras'kin
- Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, 109 km, 49020 Obninsk, Russia.
| | - Kyrmyzy Minkenova
- Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology, NNC, Kurchatov, Kazakhstan
| | - Alexandr Perevolotsky
- Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, 109 km, 49020 Obninsk, Russia
| | - Zhanat Baigazinov
- Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology, NNC, Kurchatov, Kazakhstan; Institute of Radiochemistry and Radioecology, University of Pannonia, Hungary
| | - Tatiana Perevolotskaya
- Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, 109 km, 49020 Obninsk, Russia
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Predicting the Effects of Low Dose-Rate Ionizing Radiation on Redox Potential in Plant Cells. Methods Mol Biol 2019. [PMID: 31148068 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9463-2_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
During exposure of cells to acute high dose-rate ionizing radiation (IR), oxidants from the radiolysis of water can overwhelm antioxidant systems. Protecting flora from the effects of IR released from a nuclear industry of increasing global significance and managing the growth of plants during space flight both necessitate estimating the effects of chronic low dose-rate exposure to IR. In contrast to effects at acute high-dose rates, under chronic low dose-rate exposure it is subtle, progressive, long-term effects on antioxidant systems that it is important to estimate. Here, we outline a method that combines biochemical measurement and mathematical modeling to predict the effects of chronic low dose-rate IR on redox potential in plant cells over time.
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Rybak AV, Belykh ES, Maystrenko TA, Velegzhaninov IO. Microsatellite polymorphism of Trifolium pratense population at the conditions of radioactive and chemical contamination of soil (Komi republic, Russia). ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2018; 25:34701-34710. [PMID: 30324368 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3375-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
There is no clear understanding of microevolutionary changes in natural populations of plants and animals due to anthropogenic contamination of the environment with toxicants and mutagens. But such data are necessary to forecast long-term effects of human activity. In this research, we studied genetic polymorphism in T. pratense sampled from seven sites varying in radioactive and chemical soil contamination in the vicinity of Vodny settlement (Komi, Russia). Analysis of five SSR loci was shown to be similar in a whole (N), mean (Na) and effective (Ne) numbers of alleles, heterozygosity indexes (Ho and He), and the Shannon index (I). Difference in the private allele numbers was registered: the most contaminated site has 5 and others from 0 up 2 private alleles. No difference was found in the genetic structure of T. pratense population growing at the conditions of radioactive and chemical contamination. The Bayesian analysis provided evidence of a single cluster (K = 1) due to a similar genetic structure of samples, while AMOVA results demonstrated a high variability within individuals (75%) and a low variability (1%) among groups of T. pratense from sites that differ in the contamination level. Thus, the long-term radioactive and heavy metal contamination of soil did not result in significant microevolutionary changes in T. pratense population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna V Rybak
- Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaya 28, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, 167982
| | - Elena S Belykh
- Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaya 28, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, 167982.
| | - Tatiana A Maystrenko
- Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaya 28, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, 167982
| | - Ilya O Velegzhaninov
- Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Kommunisticheskaya 28, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, 167982
- Polytechnical Institute of Vyatka State University, Kirov, Russian Federation
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Maystrenko T, Gruzdev B, Belykh E, Rybak A. The succession of the plant community on a decontaminated radioactive meadow site. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2018; 192:687-697. [PMID: 29571956 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Long-term observation of the succession in a plant community is considered a fundamental unit used to investigate the expected consequences of soil contamination by radionuclides and to understand restoration of technogeneously disturbed ecosystems. The development of arboreal willow meadow under remediation of a radioactively contaminated site has been studied for half a century. Succession stages in the formation of the de novo community were noted. Changes in the floristic composition, soil structure as well as radionuclide activity concentrations in topsoil were registered on each step. Technical recultivation of the area including covering radioactive wastes with a mixture of sand and gravel led to lower the radiation levels and was suitable for decontamination during first 5-8 years. This allowed the community to develop with maximal effectiveness on the initial steps. Than the covering layer lost its barrier functions but no adverse effects at dose rates up to 150 μGy/h on completion of the community formation were registered. Radioecological conditions and changes in the plant community development were registered simultaneously on the area studied that makes possible to follow main doseforming radionuclides migration and to determine main steps of the succession. The study results is a practical demonstration that edaphic niches, climatic conditions and сoenotic relationships between plants play a more important role in the evolution of the studied community than the contamination type and radiation exposure levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Maystrenko
- Institute of Biology, Komi Scientific Center, Ural Division RAS, Kommunisticheskaya 28, 167982 Syktyvkar, Russia.
| | - B Gruzdev
- Institute of Biology, Komi Scientific Center, Ural Division RAS, Kommunisticheskaya 28, 167982 Syktyvkar, Russia
| | - E Belykh
- Institute of Biology, Komi Scientific Center, Ural Division RAS, Kommunisticheskaya 28, 167982 Syktyvkar, Russia
| | - A Rybak
- Institute of Biology, Komi Scientific Center, Ural Division RAS, Kommunisticheskaya 28, 167982 Syktyvkar, Russia
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Caplin N, Willey N. Ionizing Radiation, Higher Plants, and Radioprotection: From Acute High Doses to Chronic Low Doses. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:847. [PMID: 29997637 PMCID: PMC6028737 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the effects of ionizing radiation (IR) on plants is important for environmental protection, for agriculture and horticulture, and for space science but plants have significant biological differences to the animals from which much relevant knowledge is derived. The effects of IR on plants are understood best at acute high doses because there have been; (a) controlled experiments in the field using point sources, (b) field studies in the immediate aftermath of nuclear accidents, and (c) controlled laboratory experiments. A compilation of studies of the effects of IR on plants reveals that although there are numerous field studies of the effects of chronic low doses on plants, there are few controlled experiments that used chronic low doses. Using the Bradford-Hill criteria widely used in epidemiological studies we suggest that a new phase of chronic low-level radiation research on plants is desirable if its effects are to be properly elucidated. We emphasize the plant biological contexts that should direct such research. We review previously reported effects from the molecular to community level and, using a plant stress biology context, discuss a variety of acute high- and chronic low-dose data against Derived Consideration Reference Levels (DCRLs) used for environmental protection. We suggest that chronic low-level IR can sometimes have effects at the molecular and cytogenetic level at DCRL dose rates (and perhaps below) but that there are unlikely to be environmentally significant effects at higher levels of biological organization. We conclude that, although current data meets only some of the Bradford-Hill criteria, current DCRLs for plants are very likely to be appropriate at biological scales relevant to environmental protection (and for which they were intended) but that research designed with an appropriate biological context and with more of the Bradford-Hill criteria in mind would strengthen this assertion. We note that the effects of IR have been investigated on only a small proportion of plant species and that research with a wider range of species might improve not only the understanding of the biological effects of radiation but also that of the response of plants to environmental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Neil Willey
- Centre for Research in Biosciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Lourenço J, Mendo S, Pereira R. Radioactively contaminated areas: Bioindicator species and biomarkers of effect in an early warning scheme for a preliminary risk assessment. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2016; 317:503-542. [PMID: 27343869 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2016] [Revised: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Concerns about the impacts on public health and on the natural environment have been raised regarding the full range of operational activities related to uranium mining and the rest of the nuclear fuel cycle (including nuclear accidents), nuclear tests and depleted uranium from military ammunitions. However, the environmental impacts of such activities, as well as their ecotoxicological/toxicological profile, are still poorly studied. Herein, it is discussed if organisms can be used as bioindicators of human health effects, posed by lifetime exposure to radioactively contaminated areas. To do so, information was gathered from several studies performed on vertebrates, invertebrate species and humans, living in these contaminated areas. The retrieved information was compared, to determine which are the most used bioindicators and biomarkers and also the similarities between human and non-human biota responses. The data evaluated are used to support the proposal for an early warning scheme, based on bioindicator species and on the most sensitive and commonly shared biomarkers, to perform a screening evaluation of radioactively contaminated sites. This scheme could be used to support decision-making for a deeper evaluation of risks to human health, making it possible to screen a large number of areas, without disturbing and alarming local populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Lourenço
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
| | - Sónia Mendo
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Ruth Pereira
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto & CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research & GreenUP/CITAB-UP, Porto, Portugal
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Geras'kin SA. Ecological effects of exposure to enhanced levels of ionizing radiation. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2016; 162-163:347-357. [PMID: 27343462 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2016.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2016] [Revised: 05/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2016] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Irradiation of plants and animals can result in disruption of ecological relationships between the components of ecosystems. Such effects may act as triggers of perturbation and lead to consequences that may differ essentially from expected ones based on effects observed at the organismal level. Considerable differences in ecology and niches occupied by different species lead to substantial differences in doses of ionizing radiation absorbed by species, even when they all are present in the same environment at the same time. This is especially evident for contamination with α-emitting radionuclides. Radioactive contamination can be considered an ecological factor that is able to modify the resistance in natural populations. However, there are radioecological situations when elevated radioresistance does not evolve or persist. The complexity and non-linearity of the structure and functioning of ecosystems can lead to unexpected consequences of stress effects, which would appear harmless if they were assessed within the narrower context of organism-based traditional radioecology. Therefore, the use of ecological knowledge is essential for understanding responses of populations and ecosystems to radiation exposure. Integration of basic ecological principles in the design and implementation of radioecological research is essential for predicting radiation effects under rapidly changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislav A Geras'kin
- Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology, Obninsk, Kaluga Region, 249032, Russia.
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Geras’kin SA, Dikareva NS, Oudalova AA, Vasil’ev DV, Volkova PY. The consequences of chronic radiation exposure of scots pine in the remote period after the chernobyl accident. RUSS J ECOL+ 2016. [DOI: 10.1134/s1067413616010057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Geras'kin S, Evseeva T, Oudalova A. Effects of long-term chronic exposure to radionuclides in plant populations. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2013; 121:22-32. [PMID: 22483340 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2011] [Revised: 03/04/2012] [Accepted: 03/07/2012] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The results of field studies carried out on different plant species (winter rye and wheat, spring barley, oats, Scots pine, wild vetch, crested hairgrass) in various radioecological situations (nuclear weapon testing, the Chernobyl accident, uranium and radium processing) to investigate the effects of long-term chronic exposure to radionuclides are discussed. Plant populations growing in areas with relatively low levels of pollution are characterized by an increased level of both cytogenetic disturbances and genetic diversity. Although ionizing radiation causes primary damage at the molecular level, there are emergent effects at the level of populations, non-predictable from the knowledge of elementary mechanisms of cellular effects formation. Accumulation of cellular alterations may afterward influence biological parameters important for populations such as health and reproduction. Presented data provide evidence that in plant populations inhabiting heavily contaminated territories cytogenetic damage could be accompanied by a decrease in reproductive capacity. However, in less contaminated sites, because of the scarcity of data available, a steady relationship between cytogenetic effects and reproductive capacity was not revealed. Under radioactive contamination of the plant's environment, a population's resistance to exposure may increase. However, there are radioecological situations where an enhanced radioresistance has not evolved or has not persisted.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Geras'kin
- Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, 109 km, 249020 Obninsk, Russia.
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Evseeva T, Belykh E, Geras'kin S, Majstrenko T. Estimation of radioactive contamination of soils from the "Balapan" and the "Experimental field" technical areas of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2012; 109:52-59. [PMID: 22285594 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2011] [Revised: 12/28/2011] [Accepted: 01/03/2012] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
In spite of the long history of the research, radioactive contamination of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (SNTS) in the Republic of Kazakhstan has not been adequately characterized. Our cartographic investigation has demonstrated highly variable radioactive contamination of the SNTS. The Cs-137, Sr-90, Eu-152, Eu-154, Co-60, and Am-241 activity concentrations in soil samples from the "Balapan" site were 42.6-17646, 96-18250, 1.05-11222, 0.6-4865, 0.23-4893, and 1.2-1037 Bq kg(-1), correspondingly. Cs-137 and Sr-90 activity concentrations in soil samples from the "Experimental field" site were varied from 87 up to 400 and from 94 up to 1000 Bq kg(-1), respectively. Activity concentrations of Co-60, Eu-152, and Eu-154 were lower than the minimum detectable activity of the method used. Concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides (K-40, Ra-226, U-238, and Th-232) in the majority of soil samples from the "Balapan" and the "Experimental field" sites did not exceed typical for surrounding of the SNTS areas levels. Estimation of risks associated with radioactive contamination based on the IAEA clearance levels for a number of key radionuclides in solid materials shows that soils sampled from the "Balapan" and the "Experimental field" sites might be considered as radioactive wastes. Decrease in specific activity of soil from the sites studied up to safety levels due to Co-60, Cs-137, Sr-90, Eu-152, Eu-154 radioactive decay and Am-241 accumulation-decay will occur not earlier than 100 years. In contrast, soils from the "Experimental field" and the "Balapan" sites (except 0.5-2.5 km distance from the "Chagan" explosion point) cannot be regarded as the radioactive wastes according safety norms valid in Russia and Kazakhstan.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Evseeva
- Institute of Biology, Komi Scientific Center, Ural Division RAS, Kommunisticheskaya 28, 167982 Syktyvkar, Russia.
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