Genetic processes in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

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Plants react to changing environmental conditions by physiological and evolutionary adaptation processes. We want to study genetic processes in trees which have been exposed to drastic environmental change caused by ionising radiation following the Chernobyl accident from 1986. Pines (Pinus spp.) were widely planted close to the nuclear power plant and were heavily radiated. Physiological adaptations and epigenetic effects will be studied by the observation of gene regulation by means of DDRT-PCR of candidate genes and cDNA-AFLPs, and by an assessment of overall methylation levels and the degree of methylation in two candidate genes in pines which have been exposed to different levels of acute and chronic radiation. Evolutionary changes might be brought about by increased mutation rates due to high radiation levels and by selection favouring particular genotypes in environments characterized by high radiation levels. We will study mutation and selection in pine trees which have been growing in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant during the accident, in plantations which were established on radiation exposed soils after the accident, and in appropriate non-exposed reference material. The combination of immobility and longevity makes forest trees interesting model organisms to study adaptation to radiation at the molecular level.