Abstract
Purpose
Proton ions are expected to be used as a discriminative radiation source to induce different kinds of mutations than those produced by γ-rays and carbon ions; however, there is little systemic information about radiosensitivity in plants.
Materials and methods
We analyzed the LD30, LD50, and RD50 values in response to proton ions and γ-rays using 20 plant species. Plant seeds were irradiated, and growth responses were measured one month after planting, except for cymbidium, for which in vitro rhizomes were irradiated. The rhizomes were analyzed at six and nine months after subculturing.
Results
Resistance to proton ions and γ-rays was observed in Chinese cabbage, watermelon, and melon, while Japanese atractylodes, naked barley, and lentil were susceptible. Plants belonging to the Brassicaceae and Cucurbitaceae families were highly resistant to radiation, and plants belonging to the Compositae and Poaceae families were highly susceptible. In addition, plants with genome sizes greater than 8,000 Mbp were highly sensitive to radiation, but there was no clear relationship between radiosensitivity and genome size in plants with genomes smaller than 2,500 Mbp.
Conclusions
The biological effectiveness of proton ions was greater than that of γ-rays in 16 plant species, indicating that they could be used as a discriminative radiation source to induce mutations compared with γ-rays.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Sung Cheol Koo (Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA, Korea) for providing the seeds of medicinal plants (Japanese atractylodes and licorice).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflicts of interest are reported by the authors. has only been used for a noncommercial book, the User’s guideline on proton accelerator for radiation breeding (ISBN 979-11-972905-1-0, in Korean).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Sang Hoon Kim
Sang Hoon Kim is a Principal Researcher at KAERI. He is working on mutation breeding in horticultural crops.
Sun Young Kim
Sun Young Kim is a Master’s degree student at KAERI. She is working on mutation breeding in oriental orchids.
Jaihyunk Ryu
Jaihyunk Ryu is a Senior Researcher at KAERI. He is working on mutation breeding in medicinal crops.
Yeong Deuk Jo
Yeong Deuk Jo is a Senior Researcher at KAERI. He is working on mutation breeding in pepper and tomato.
Hong-Il Choi
Hong-Il Choi is a Senior Researcher at KAERI. He is working on mutation breeding in rice and medicinal plants.
Jin-Baek Kim
Jin-Baek Kim is a Principal Researcher at KAERI. He is working on mutation breeding in wheat and Arabidopsis.
Si-Yong Kang
Si-Yong Kang was a Principal Researcher at KAERI. He worked on mutation breeding in rice, and was a General Director of the project. He is currently a Professor at Kongju National University.