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Effects of sparsely and densely ionizing radiation on plants

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Abstract

One of the main purposes leading botanists to investigate the effects of ionizing radiations is to understand plant behaviour in space, where vegetal systems play an important role for nourishment, psychological support and functioning of life support systems. Ground-based experiments have been performed with particles of different charge and energy. Samples exposed to X- or γ-rays are often used as reference to derive the biological efficiency of different radiation qualities. Studies where biological samples are exposed directly to the space radiation environment have also been performed. The comparison of different studies has clarified how the effects observed after exposure are deeply influenced by several factors, some related to plant characteristics (e.g. species, cultivar, stage of development, tissue architecture and genome organization) and some related to radiation features (e.g. quality, dose, duration of exposure). In this review, we report main results from studies on the effect of ionizing radiations, including cosmic rays, on plants, focusing on genetic alterations, modifications of growth and reproduction and changes in biochemical pathways especially photosynthetic behaviour. Most of the data confirm what is known from animal studies: densely ionizing radiations are more efficient in inducing damages at several different levels, in comparison with sparsely ionizing radiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Arboricoltura, Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università 100, 80055, Portici (Naples), Italy

    Veronica De Micco

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Cinthia, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Carmen Arena

  3. Department of Biophysics, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291, Darmstadt, Germany

    Diana Pignalosa & Marco Durante

  4. Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulestraße 3, 64289, Darmstadt, Germany

    Marco Durante

Authors
  1. Veronica De Micco
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  2. Carmen Arena
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  3. Diana Pignalosa
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  4. Marco Durante
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Correspondence to Marco Durante.

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De Micco, V., Arena, C., Pignalosa, D. et al. Effects of sparsely and densely ionizing radiation on plants. Radiat Environ Biophys 50, 1–19 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-010-0343-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-010-0343-8

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