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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Geomagnetic Field (Gmf) and Plant Evolution: Investigating the Effects of Gmf Reversal on Arabidopsis thaliana Development and Gene Expression
Published on: November 30, 2015
Genetic consequences of radioactive contamination for populations of Arabidopsis
V I Abramov1, O M Fedorenko, V A Shevchenko
1Institute of Biology, Kazelian Science Centre, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
Abstract:
Populations of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. growing within a 30 km radius of Chernobyl and characterized by radioactive contamination levels ranging from 0.02 to 240 mR h-1 were analyzed for the frequency of embryonic lethal mutations in 1987 and 1988. Plots that retained high levels of radioactive contamination long after the initial exposure were characterized by a high frequency of mutant plants. Plots with low levels of radioactive contamination, which were significantly reduced soon after exposure, were characterized by a decrease in the initially high proportion of mutant plants. Populations of Arabidopsis exposed to insignificant radioactive contamination showed no increase in the frequency of mutant plants; mutation levels were comparable to those found in control plants.
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