Response of young Nerium oleander plants to long-term non-ionizing radiation

• Published in: Planta Vol. 251; no. 6; p. 108
• Main Authors: Stefi, Aikaterina L., Mitsigiorgi, Konstantina, Vassilacopoulou, Dido, Christodoulakis, Nikolaos S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: abiotic stress; absorbance; Agriculture; Aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylase; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biosynthesis; Carbon dioxide; Cellular stress response; chronic exposure; Crypts; Dihydroxyphenylalanine; Ecology; Electromagnetic induction; Electromagnetic radiation; Environmental conditions; Environmental stress; enzymes; Exposure; Forestry; Ionizing radiation; L-dopa; Leaves; Levodopa; Life Sciences; Low frequencies; Metabolites; Nerium - physiology; Nerium - radiation effects; Nerium oleander; Original Article; Oxidative Stress; Photosynthesis; Photosynthesis - radiation effects; Photosynthetic pigments; Pigments; Plant Leaves - physiology; Plant Leaves - radiation effects; plant response; Plant Roots - physiology; Plant Roots - radiation effects; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Pollutants; Radiation, Nonionizing; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Secondary metabolites; Seedlings; stress response; Trichomes; DDC; Leaf anatomy; Crypts; EM radiation; ROS; Nerium oleander
• ISSN: 0032-0935; 1432-2048; 1432-2048
• DOI: 10.1007/s00425-020-03405-2

Main conclusion Although exposure to low frequency electromagnetic radiation is harmful to plants, LF-EM irradiated Nerium oleander seedlings exhibited enhanced development and growth, probably taking advantage of defined structural leaf deformations. Currently, evidence supports the undesirable, often destructive impact of low frequency electromagnetic (LF-EM) radiation on plants. The response of plants to LF-EM radiation often entails induction in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, a subject matter that is well documented. Nerium oleander is a Mediterranean plant species, which evolved remarkable resistance to various environmental stress conditions. In the current investigation, cultivated N. oleander plants, following their long-term exposure to LF-EM radiation, exhibited major structural modifications as the flattening of crypts, the elimination of trichomes and the reduction of the layers of the epidermal cells. These changes co-existed with an oxidative stress response manifested by a significant increase in reactive oxygen species at both the roots and the above ground parts, a decline in the absorbance of light by photosynthetic pigments and the substantially increased biosynthesis of l -Dopa decarboxylase (DDC), an enzyme catalyzing the production of secondary metabolites that alleviate stress. The exposed plants exhibited greater primary plant productivity, despite a manifested photosynthetic pigment limitation and the severe oxidative stress. This unique response of N. oleander to severe abiotic stress conditions may be owed to the advantage offered by a structural change consistent to an easier diffusion of CO 2 within the leaves. A major plant response to an emerging “pollutant” was documented.