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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2019

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Abstract

Main conclusion Persistent DNA damage in gamma-exposed Norway spruce, Scots pine and Arabidopsis thaliana, but persistent adverse effects at the organismal and cellular level in the conifers only. Gamma radiation emitted from natural and anthropogenic sources may have strong negative impact on plants, especially at high dose rates. Although previous studies implied different sensitivity among species, information from comparative studies under standardized conditions is scarce. In this study, sensitivity to gamma radiation was compared in young seedlings of the conifers Scots pine and Norway spruce and the herbaceous Arabidopsis thaliana by exposure to 60Co gamma dose rates of 1–540 mGy h−1 for 144 h, as well as 360 h for A. thaliana. Consistent with slightly less prominent shoot apical meristem, in the conifers growth was significantly inhibited with increasing dose rate ≥ 40 mGy h−1. Post-irradiation, the conifers showed dose-rate-dependent inhibition of needle and root development consistent with increasingly disorganized apical meristems with increasing dose rate, visible damage and mortality after exposure to ≥ 40 mGy h−1. Regardless of gamma duration, A. thaliana showed no visible or histological damage or mortality, only delayed lateral root development after ≥ 100 mGy h−1 and slightly, but transiently delayed post-irradiation reproductive development after ≥ 400 mGy h−1. In all species dose-rate-dependent DNA damage occurred following ≥ 1–10 mGy h−1 and was still at a similar level at day 44 post-irradiation. In conclusion, the persistent DNA damage (possible genomic instability) following gamma exposure in all species may suggest that DNA repair is not necessarily mobilized more extensively in A. thaliana than in Norway spruce and Scots pine, and the far higher sensitivity at the organismal and cellular level in the conifers indicates lower tolerance to DNA damage than in A. thaliana.

Abstract

Rhodiola rosea is a highly valued herbal medicinal plant. It is growing wild in most parts of Norway and mountainous areas around the world. The marker compounds are salidroside, cinnamyl alcohol, glycosides (rosine, rosavine, rosarine), flavonoids (rhodionin, rhodiosin, rhodiolin) and terpens (Galambosi 1999), where the rosavins are unique to R. rosea. In Norway, germplasm collections of R. rosea are maintained by NIBIO; at Apelsvoll in Southern Norway, consisting of 97 different clones. The ranges in content of secondary metabolites in the collection are for rosavin 2.90-85.95 mg g-1, salidroside 0.03-12.85 mg g-1, rosin 0.08-4.75 mg g-1, tyrosol 0.04-2.15 mg g-1 and cinnamyl alcohol 0.02-1.18 mg g-1. A number of different studies have been performed on how biotic and abiotic factors affects the yield of the roots as well the content in metabolites. We find that the flowering of the plant is dependent on cool temperatures during dormancy and thus climatic changes may affect the plant development as well as the production of metabolites. Studies performed in Norway as well as between European countries shows that geographical location affects the content of metabolites and here also variation in clones are a player. In the present presentation results from these and more studies will be presented. Also comprising results on the effect of white-, blue- and red light on the growth and chemical composition of greenhouse grown plants.