The use of experimental model for investigating response of plants structures and anatomy to radiation

Ionizing radiation as environmental factor, causes adaptive processes that affect plant and anatomical changes caused by the accumulation of radioactive substances. This study aimed to investigate the effect of radiation on the structure and anatomy of Phaseolus vulgaris L. leaves in three generations under conditions of a model experiment involving root uptake of 90Sr. Plants were grown in soil samples with high levels of specific activity of 90Sr (5´108 Bq/kg), selected from the former Semipalatinsk testing site. The adaxial and abaxial epidermal layers and mesophyll thickness were used as the main structural and anatomic parameters. Leaf samples were taken after full formation and preserved in a Copenhagen mixture before irradiation. The dose rates from internal and external radiation for Phaseolus vulgaris L. were determined. Due to 90Sr being 9.5´10-1 Gy, this indicates the manifestation of adaptive responses, rather than the effect of hormetic response. The distribution of 90Sr among the organs of Phaseolus vulgaris L. is represented by a series decreasing from “leaves>stems>fruits”. Significant changes in the thickness of adaxial and abaxial epidermal layers, as well as mesophyll thickness in the leaf lamina (p90Sr accumulates and is fixed.