The effects of long-term radiation exposure on the reproductive structures of Glyceria maxima (Hartm.) Holmb.: A case study in the Chornobyl exclusion zone

Abstract

During the acute phase of the Chornobyl accident the biota of the contaminated area was exposed to high doses of ionising radiation. Although these doses decreased significantly over the years, the exposure persisted over a prolonged period. This long-term exposure can be considered as a direct cause of genetic modifications occurring in organisms, and the search for correlative changes in the state of biota under the impact of radioactive contamination is an extremely urgent task. The aquatic macrophyte Glyceria maxima is the most common coenosis-forming plant of the littoral vegetation of the floodplain water bodies in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, and is capable of concentrating radionuclides in significant quantities. In this study, we aim to determine whether long-term radiation exposure has affected organs of reproductive structure (flower, pollen, seed) and, consequently, the viability of local populations of this species. All the traits analysed showed an inverse relationship with the absorbed dose rate of the maternal plants. It was determined that with an increase in the absorbed dose rate, the pollen size decreases, and the range of individual grains in the sample begins to vary more: small, heterogeneous in shape and size pollen grains are formed. Additionally, a decrease in pollen grain size correlates with a decrease in the proportion of fertile pollen. Pollen grains viability (fertility) decreases by 20–40% with increasing radiation dose rate. The response of reproductive structures to radiation exposure is non-linear: already at low doses (>2 μGy/h), negative changes in functional and morphological traits are observed, while at higher doses (9–13 μGy/h), the changes slow down. It is assumed that the radiation exposure mainly affects the early reproductive stages (pollen grains and partially flowers), while the main nutrients in water, that determine the trophic status of the reservoir, affects the late stages (seeds).