Adaptive reactions of Arabidopsis thaliana to ionizing radiation: searching for candidate molecules in abiotic stress tolerance

One of the important scientific tasks is to ensure the stable existence of natural ecosystems under anthropogenic exposure and climate changes. Territories contaminated with radionuclides are promising experimental areas for studying the combined effect of technogenic pollution and climate change on the components of the biosphere, and for identification of microevolutionary processes associated with adaptation.At the moment, a detailed analysis of the transcriptome of the descendants of model Arabidopsis thaliana plants growing in the Chernobyl exclusion zone ihas been carried out, in order to identify candidate genes in abiotic stress tolerance that can be used for research in the field of functional genomics and in programs aimed at increasing the resistance of agricultural plants and valuable tree species.As a result of the implementation of the entire project, it is planned to obtain the following scientific results: under controlled conditions, the response to abiotic stressors will be studied on descendants of model Arabidopsis thaliana plants growing in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl NPP, and the genetic basis of acquired resistance (or sensitivity) will be determined; based on the data obtained, genetic determinants of the resistance to radiation exposure will be identified.