Poster: Phytoremediation

Abs # 974: Genetics of caesium (Cs) accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Presenter:	Payne, Katharine A, katharine.payne@hri.ac.uk
Authors	Payne, Katharine A (A) (B)  Bennett, Malcolm J (B)   Bowen, Helen C (A)   Broadley, Martin R (A)   Hammond, John P (A) (B)  Hampton, Corrina R (A) (C)  Mead, Andrew  (A)   Swarup, Kamal  (B)   White, Philip J (A)
Affiliations:	(A): Horticulture Research International (B): Division of Plant Sciences, University of Nottingham (C): School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham

Radiocaesium (Cs) is released to the environment by anthropogenic activities. Following deposition to soils, Cs enters the food chain through root uptake and subsequent accumulation in edible crop tissues. This poses a serious health risk to humans and animals consuming contaminated produce. There is natural genetic variation in the accumulation of Cs in plant shoots. It may be possible to use this information to develop 'safe' crops that accumulate less Cs in their tissues, either by selecting existing crop varieties, or by identifying alleles and/or candidate genes that impact on the trait of Cs accumulation and developing subsequent breeding strategies. The feasibility of developing 'safe' crops can be determined within a short time scale using Arabidopsis thaliana. Arabidopsis were grown in nutrient-enriched agar supplemented with 1 mM Cs. Variation in shoot Cs content and shoot Cs extraction occurred between Arabidopsis ecotypes, between parents of three existing mapping populations of Arabidopsis recombinant inbred lines (RILs), and within the RIL populations. In the Landsberg erecta (Ler) x Cape Verdi Island (Cvi) cross, Cs content varied three-fold and in the Columbia (Col) x Ler and Niedersenz (Nd) x Col crosses, Cs content varied two-fold. Variation in Cs extraction was greater. Quantitative genetical analyses were performed on the three RIL populations. The heritability of shoot Cs content and shoot Cs extraction traits ranged from 7 - 19 %. Putative genetic loci impacting on the traits of shoot Cs content and shoot Cs extraction have been identified using a quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach.