Scientists will examine plants from Chernobyl with new method
9. 9. 2016 | 1544 visits
Garden in Chernobyl sounds like science fiction, but Slovak scientists are already "harvesting" the eighth generation of the crop. They are researching, how plants do adapt to the radiation.
A team around Mgr. Martin Hajduch, MD. from the Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology SAS receives samples from the Chernobyl since the beginning of the research project in 2007. Scientists in cooperation with the Ukrainian colleagues planted soy and flax to monitor how the plants can adapt to environment contaminated by radioactive elements at the molecular level.
"This project is still running, in addition to soy and flax, we have sown also the corn, barley and oilseed rape. Currently we have samples of the eighth generation in the freezer, "says research team member Mgr. Daša Gabrišová, PhD. Scientist are currently researching the sixth generation of the plants with new technology - mass spectrometry.
Plants from the contaminated areas cannot leave the Chernobyl. "Our Ukrainian colleagues look after these fields and isolate the proteins which we work with, once they are isolated from the seeds, they can be send to Slovakia,“ explains the scientist, who in spite of her research never entered the contaminated area.
Slovak scientists are mapping the impact of radiation on protein level by using different kinds of experiments. "My colleague is doing experiments on the sixth generation. Seeds from plants that formerly grown on contaminated soil are now transplanted back into uncontaminated soil, and he will track the changes, "says Daša Gabrišová. Another experiment revealed that seeds from the second generation of plants contain more oil than normal seeds.
Scientists so far have examined whether proteins are present in the samples and their quantity, but Daša Gabrišová is starting with research of their post-translational modifications by mass spectrometry. "Thanks to it, we will know whether the proteins in the samples are activated and in which processes are they involved, "explains the scientist, who hopes that her research will help explain how the mechanisms in the contaminated plants works.
A team around Mgr. Martin Hajduch, MD. from the Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology SAS receives samples from the Chernobyl since the beginning of the research project in 2007. Scientists in cooperation with the Ukrainian colleagues planted soy and flax to monitor how the plants can adapt to environment contaminated by radioactive elements at the molecular level.
"This project is still running, in addition to soy and flax, we have sown also the corn, barley and oilseed rape. Currently we have samples of the eighth generation in the freezer, "says research team member Mgr. Daša Gabrišová, PhD. Scientist are currently researching the sixth generation of the plants with new technology - mass spectrometry.
Plants from the contaminated areas cannot leave the Chernobyl. "Our Ukrainian colleagues look after these fields and isolate the proteins which we work with, once they are isolated from the seeds, they can be send to Slovakia,“ explains the scientist, who in spite of her research never entered the contaminated area.
Slovak scientists are mapping the impact of radiation on protein level by using different kinds of experiments. "My colleague is doing experiments on the sixth generation. Seeds from plants that formerly grown on contaminated soil are now transplanted back into uncontaminated soil, and he will track the changes, "says Daša Gabrišová. Another experiment revealed that seeds from the second generation of plants contain more oil than normal seeds.
Scientists so far have examined whether proteins are present in the samples and their quantity, but Daša Gabrišová is starting with research of their post-translational modifications by mass spectrometry. "Thanks to it, we will know whether the proteins in the samples are activated and in which processes are they involved, "explains the scientist, who hopes that her research will help explain how the mechanisms in the contaminated plants works.