Comparison of gamma- and beta radiation stress responses on anti-oxidative defense system and DNA modifications in Lemna minor

The biological effects and interactions of different radiation types in plants are still far from understood. Additional knowledge on the impact of various kinds of ionizing radiation in plants on individual, biochemical and molecular level is needed to unravel and compare the toxic mode of action. Among different radiation types, external gamma radiation treatments have been mostly studied both in lab and field studies to derive the biological impact of radiation toxicity in organisms. However, environmental relevant studies on chronic low-dose gamma exposures are scarce. The radio-ecologically relevant radionuclide 90Sr is a pure beta emitting isotope and originates from nuclear activities and accidents. Although this radionuclide is not essential for plant metabolism, it bears a chemical analogy with the essential plant macro-nutrient Ca2+ thereby taking advantage of Ca2+ transport systems to contaminate plant organs and tissues. Ones plants are exposed to radiation stress, ionization events can cause an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and can induce damage to biological material like DNA, lipids and structural proteins. The following work aimed at evaluating individual, biochemical and molecular endpoints to understand and to compare the mode of action of gamma- and beta radiation stress in plants. Having an equal relative biological effectiveness to non-human biota, it is still not clear in how plants differ or overlap in sensing and interpreting highly penetrating electromagnetic radiation with short-range particle radiation. The floating plant Lemna minor was chosen as model system. Following the OECD guidelines Lemna plants were being exposed separately to an external gamma radiation source or to a 90Sr-contaminated growth medium to obtain single-dose response curves for each type of radiation. In order to acquire accurate dose rate quantifications for beta radiation exposures, 90Sr uptake and accumulation of root and frond have been implemented in a dosimetric model derived from ERICA tool. This enabled a reliable comparison of dose-dependent endpoints between gamma- and beta radiation. Dose rates varied from 15 and 1500 mGy/hr, and 19 from 19000 μGy/hr for gamma- and beta radiation respectively. The classic growth related endpoints, like biomass and frond area, were measured and compared with biochemical and molecular endpoints. Therefore, DNA modifications were analyzed to evaluate biological DNA damage and ROS accumulation in plants together with activities of anti-oxidative enzymes to evaluate oxidative stress response. A dose-response curve with 60 percent growth inhibition was determined for gamma radiation and morphological growth effects in root system were observed for beta radiation. Preliminary results showed similar responses in peroxidase activities between both radiation types. These results and ongoing investigations will help to unravel the differences and similarities in response mechanisms for various radiation types in plant systems. As multiple levels in biological organisation of the organism were considered, and also different dose rates taken into account, this approach allows a better understanding the toxic mode of action of radiation stress in higher plants. This research was supported by the European Commission Contract Fission-2010-3.5.1-269672 to Strategy for Allied Radioecology (www.star-radioecology.org) and a project of the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO-Vlaanderen, G.A040.11N) (authors)