The time dynamics and ecological-genetic variation of cytogenetic effects in the Scots pine populations experiencing anthropogenic impact

Abstract

The level of cytogenetic effects has been examined in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) populations in the vicinity of nuclear industry facilities. The rate of aberrant root meristem cells in germinated seeds from impacted populations exceeded the reference background level in a statistically significant manner over 6 years of observation. The cytogenetic characteristics in the reference population have changed with time in a cyclical manner, whereas the patterns observed in the impacted populations have changed in relation to the reference ones. An increase in the level of cytogenetic abnormalities has been accompanied by an increase in its fluctuation amplitude, while the deviations in the main quantitative oscillation parameters from the values characteristic of the reference population have increased with the degree of anthropogenic impact. The variation in the studied response under technogenic stress has increased. The intrafamily component has been the main contributor to the variation in cytogenetic characteristics; however, this contribution has decreased in the impacted populations. A trend of destabilization of the repetition coefficient dynamics under technogenic impact has been observed. A familywise analysis of the level of cytogenetic effects on contrasting backgrounds, simulated by acute seed irradiation before germination, has demonstrated that the factors “family,” “environment,” and “family-environment interaction” contribute to the cytogenetic variation in the reference population in a statistically significant manner. The impacted populations display modifications in the structure of ecologicalgenetic variation, the degree of which increased with the degree of anthropogenic stress.