Effects of gamma irradiation on lipid peroxidation, survival and growth of turmeric in vitro culture

Abstract

Gamma radiation has been widely applied in agriculture for crop improvement; however, it can induce oxidative stress in plant cell. This research aims to study effects of acute and chronic gamma irradiation on lipid peroxidation, plantlets survival and growth rate in M1V1 generation of turmeric. Plantlets cultured on MS medium were exposed to acute gamma radiation from Cs-137 (dose rate 3.7 Gy/min) at 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 Gy. For chronic irradiation with a Co-60 source (dose rate 0.0057 Gy/min), turmeric were exposed to gamma radiation at 0, 21, 41, 62 and 82 Gy. Results showed that the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was gradually increased with radiation doses after chronic irradiation, whereas after acute irradiation, it significantly increased at the dose of 40 Gy compared to non-irradiated plantlets. Differences between acute and chronical exposure to gamma irradiation were observed for MDA at the highest dose. Chronic irradiation at 21, 41 and 62 Gy also influenced plant development, mainly due to the stimulation of seedling survival and growth, while 20 Gy acutely gamma irradiation maximally promoted and decreased afterward. The median lethal dose (LD50) and 50% growth reduction dose (GR50) after acutely irradiated were reported to 74 and 66 Gy, respectively.