Radiation hazard caused by the Chernobyl accident in inhabited areas of Ukraine can be monitored by transgenic plants

The genetic impact of the 1986 accident at the Ukraine Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) on populations of living organisms has yet to be fully assessed. Monitoring of the genotoxicity of polluted soils is a key element in the disaster management program. We used Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum plants transgenic for a reporter gene revealing homologous recombination to study the genetic effects of chronic low-dose radiation stemming from the soil in inhabited areas of Ukraine where contamination by the accident ranges from 1 to 40 Ci/km(2). We noted a significant dose-dependent increase of homologous recombination in plants cultivated in the affected inhabited areas, proving the persistently high genotoxicity of the radioactively contaminated soils. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.