title: Mutants of Ficus pumila produced by ion beam irradiation with an improved ability to uptake and assimilate atmospheric nitrogen dioxide.
abstract: Production of novel mutants with a high ability to mitigate pollutants is important for phytoremediation. We investigated the use of ion beam irradiation to produce mutants of Ficus pumila L. with an improved ability to mitigate atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2). More than 25,000 shoot explants were irradiated with an ion beam (12C5+, 12C6+, or 4He2+), from which 263 independent plant lines were obtained. The plants were analyzed for NO2 uptake by fumigation with 1 ppm 15N-labeled NO2 for 8 h in light, followed by mass spectrometric analysis. The mean NO2 uptake values of each of the 263 lines differed over a 110-fold range. Propagation was attempted using cuttings from 44 lines showing the greatest NO2 uptake; in total, 15 lines were propagated. Two of the 15 lines showed a mean NO2 uptake 1.7- to 1.8-fold greater than that of the wild-type. This increase in NO2 uptake was heritable in both lines; their progenies showed a significantly greater ability to take up and assimilate NO2 than did the wild-type. RAPD analysis demonstrated DNA variation between the progeny plants and the wild type, suggesting that the progeny were true mutants. These mutants of F. pumila may prove useful in mitigating atmospheric NO2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical and Life Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. mtakahas@sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Misa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Sueli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kohama
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shigeto
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hase
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morikawa
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000235:genetics; D030681:Ficus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D007554:Isotopes; D008027:Light; D009154:Mutation; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D007554:Isotopes; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide