title: Physiological and morphological responses induced by α-particle radiation on Arabidopsis thaliana embryos.
abstract: Alpha (α)-particle radiation has been thoroughly studied in the occupational and residential environments, but biological mechanisms induced by α-particle radiation on plants are not clearly understood. In this study, radiation effects were examined using different total doses (1, 10, 100 Gy, respectively) of 241Am, α-particle on Arabidopsis embryos. No significant difference in the germination percentage was observed between the 3 levels of doses and the control. Germination speed and root length were increased by treatment with the 1-Gy dose of a-particles, and decreased by treatment with 10- and 100-Gy doses. Moreover, the bending degree of roots increased with radiation dose, and the roots showed an "S" shape when treated with the 100-Gy dose. Root bending under the 100-Gy dose was inhibited by scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Root gravitropism and root length may respond to the consistency of ROS induced by irradiation. Further analysis of the physiological effects revealed that an increase in a-particle radiation intensity enhanced the activity of catalase and the content of malondialdehyde, but superoxide dismutase activity was reduced by treatment with 100-Gy radiation of a-particles, suggesting that the high linear energy transfer of a-particles may cause a relatively high level of membrane lipid preoxidation and high accumulation of ROS. ROS showed both physiological and morphological responses following exposure to α-particle radiation in Arabidopsis embryos.
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Agricultural Engineering, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: X L
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China fusongling@ahau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Agricultural Engineering, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Z C
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D000512:Alpha Particles; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D018525:Germination / Q000528:radiation effects; D018522:Gravitropism / Q000528:radiation effects; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D018519:Meristem / Q000528:radiation effects; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D036226:Seedlings / Q000528:radiation effects; D012639:Seeds / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase