科研之友
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摘要
Objectives: Our living environment is composed of mixed pollution. Consequently, the combination of toxic elements may produce either new kinds of harmful products or induce further toxicity in the already existing ones. Thus, living organism response to combined contamination could differ from additive toxicity hypothesis or the effect of a single pollutant. This is especially true for the low-dose ionizing radiation which is able to sensitize organisms to other contaminants. Nowadays aluminum and tritium appear to be widespread pollutants due to the development of new technologies and nuclear energy. Plants, similar to animals, employ electrical signals in the integration of their responses to the environmental stress. The electrical properties of plant cells have a substantial influence on the maintenance of ion transport involved in intracellular regulation, signal transduction, other processes essential for plant's survival. Therefore, we conducted an electrophysiological investigation to identify alteration in bioelectrical activity of a charophyte cell. This study could provide essential understanding of the primer cell response to the combined pollution of aluminum and tritium, expressed in complex interference into the electrogenesis of intact plant cell in appropriate environmental context. Methods: Conventional intracellular methods of microelectrodes and voltage clamp technique was applied to investigate the impact of combined exogenous exposure to aluminum and tritium on the bioelectrical properties of the plant cell plasma membrane. Results: The combination of aluminum and tritium was found to cause significant changes in transient Cl-, Ca2+, and K+ currents involved in the generation of action potential in plants in comparison with those evoked by single aluminum. Conclusions: Charophyte cells provide a unique model system for electrophysiological investigation of the plasma membrane properties. The observed phenomena of modifying action of tritium on aluminum toxicity gives a better understanding of the biological behavior of both naturally occurring contaminants in the environment and provides an approach to predict that tritium as a source of ionizing radiation could be considered alongside with acidity as an important factor for aluminum toxicity expression in plants. Thus, comprehensive studies are necessary for elucidating the mechanisms of interaction of aluminum and tritium and also other ionizing radiation sources, paying particular attention to the investigation of aluminum toxicity in conditions of potential excessive radiation and higher background radiation, accidental radioactive pollution, radioactive waste disposals, human dealing with medical and occupational exposure.
- 出版日期2014
