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An extended dose-response model for microbial responses to ionizing radiation

Siasou, Eleni; Johnson, David; Willey, Neil

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Authors

Eleni Siasou

David Johnson

Neil Willey Neil.Willey@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Env Plant Physiology



Abstract

© 2017 Siasou, Johnson and Willey. An understanding of the environmental toxicology of ionizing radiation (IR) is needed because nuclear power production is expanding and there is increasing pressure to build nuclear waste repositories. The effects of IR in the environment have long been investigated but there have been fewer studies involving environmental microbiology than its importance to key ecosystems services demands. Here, we highlight some unique aspects of the relationship between microbes and IR and use them to suggest an extended dose-response model. At high doses, IR causes DNA damage and oxidative stress but some microbes have a remarkable capacity for DNA repair and are tolerant of oxidative stress. Not only is significant radioresistance increasingly being reported for microbes, but some microbes are even radiotrophic. The stressful radiative environment of the early Earth might help explain the existence of these traits, which challenge the assumptions of current dose response models for IR. We suggest that a perspective that takes into account these traits plus both dose and dose rate can be used to model an "effects landscape" that might provide insights for the environmental toxicology of IR to microbes. This might help to predict the effects of IR on key ecosystem processes and also be useful in understanding the environmental toxicology of IR in general.

Citation

Siasou, E., Johnson, D., & Willey, N. (2017). An extended dose-response model for microbial responses to ionizing radiation. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 5, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00006

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 20, 2017
Online Publication Date Feb 3, 2017
Publication Date Feb 3, 2017
Deposit Date Jul 16, 2018
Publicly Available Date Jul 16, 2018
Journal Frontiers in Environmental Science
Electronic ISSN 2296-665X
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Article Number 6
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00006
Keywords ionizing radiation, microorganisms, environmental toxicology, dose–response model, ecosystem
processes
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/898710
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00006

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