TY - JOUR
T1 - Phytohormonal balance and differential gene expression in chronically irradiated Scots pine populations from the chernobyl affected zone
AU - Bitarishvili, Sofia
AU - Shesterikova, Ekaterina
AU - Smirnova, Alyona
AU - Volkova, Polina
AU - Turqueto Duarte, Gustavo
AU - Geras’kin, Stanislav
N1 - Score=10
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - The impact of chronic radiation exposure on phytohormone content and expression of phytohormone- and stress-related genes of Scots pine in the zone affected by the Chernobyl accident was studied. Needle samples were collected from three plots with contrasting levels of radioactive contamination in the Polesye State Radiation-Ecological Reserve, Republic of Belarus, and two reference plots in the Kozeluzhsky forest in June 2022. The experimental plots were located within the artificial plantations of Scots pine established in 1982, before the accident in 1986. The activity of radionuclides 137Cs, 90Sr, 241Am, 238Pu, and 239+240Pu in soil and needles ensured dose rates ranging from 3.3 to 87 mGy × year−1, while at the reference plots, the range was 0.7‒0.8 mGy × year−1. Concentrations of plant hormones, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), zeatin, and abscisic acid (ABA) in needles were evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We demonstrate that chronic radiation exposure is a significant stress factor that affects both phytohormonal balance and the expression of some important phytohormone- and stress-related genes. We found a tendency toward decreased ABA and auxin concentrations in trees from plots contaminated with radionuclides. The ratio (IAA + IBA + zeatin)/ABA was drastically raised at the most contaminated plots Masany and Kulazhin, reflecting the functional rearrangements of cellular metabolism that ensure plant adaptation under chronic radiation exposure. Changes in gene expression indicated modulation of ABA and Ca2+ signalling pathways, decreased potential of zeatin biosynthesis, and activation of heat shock proteins biosynthesis.
AB - The impact of chronic radiation exposure on phytohormone content and expression of phytohormone- and stress-related genes of Scots pine in the zone affected by the Chernobyl accident was studied. Needle samples were collected from three plots with contrasting levels of radioactive contamination in the Polesye State Radiation-Ecological Reserve, Republic of Belarus, and two reference plots in the Kozeluzhsky forest in June 2022. The experimental plots were located within the artificial plantations of Scots pine established in 1982, before the accident in 1986. The activity of radionuclides 137Cs, 90Sr, 241Am, 238Pu, and 239+240Pu in soil and needles ensured dose rates ranging from 3.3 to 87 mGy × year−1, while at the reference plots, the range was 0.7‒0.8 mGy × year−1. Concentrations of plant hormones, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), zeatin, and abscisic acid (ABA) in needles were evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We demonstrate that chronic radiation exposure is a significant stress factor that affects both phytohormonal balance and the expression of some important phytohormone- and stress-related genes. We found a tendency toward decreased ABA and auxin concentrations in trees from plots contaminated with radionuclides. The ratio (IAA + IBA + zeatin)/ABA was drastically raised at the most contaminated plots Masany and Kulazhin, reflecting the functional rearrangements of cellular metabolism that ensure plant adaptation under chronic radiation exposure. Changes in gene expression indicated modulation of ABA and Ca2+ signalling pathways, decreased potential of zeatin biosynthesis, and activation of heat shock proteins biosynthesis.
KW - Abiotic stress
KW - Chronic radiation exposure
KW - Gene expression
KW - Phytohormones
KW - Pinus sylvestris
KW - Plant adaptation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205905592&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11356-024-35211-8
DO - 10.1007/s11356-024-35211-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85205905592
SN - 0944-1344
VL - 31
SP - 60178
EP - 60188
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
IS - 50
ER -