Review article
https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/21.3.2709
Radioactive contamination in Chernobyl and (epi)genetic stability of plants – A review
Veronika LANCÍKOVÁ
; Plant Science and Biodiversity Center, Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Nitra, Slovakia
Jana ŽIAROVSKÁ
; Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia
Abstract
Rapid industrial and agricultural development brought, besides the indisputable advances, also risks related to the environmental pollution. Widespread soil deterioration represents a global problem. Chernobyl area contaminated by radionuclides after nuclear accident in 1986 provides the opportunity to analyze in situ the impact of radiation on
plant systems. Unlike animals and humans, plants are not able to move to another place with better living conditions. Therefore, plants are an ideal object to study adaptation to the conditions of environmental stress. Long- term exposure to the ionizing radiation causes widespread changes in plant genome and epigenome. Also, these alterations may result in changed phenotype. In particular, this review discusses the effect of ionizing radiation on genetic and epigenetic stability of plant genome.
Keywords
Chernobyl, epigenome; genome; radioactive contamination
Hrčak ID:
244315
URI
Publication date:
29.9.2020.
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