Effect Varying Dosage of Gamma Irradiation on the Growth of Zea mays

Shannen Krishna S. Sena

Sec. A-3L

May 27, 2016

ABSTRACT

1
A scientific paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Genetics
laboratory under Prof. Riaflor M. Alcabedos, 2nd sem., 2015-2016.
 The effect of varying dosage of gamma irradiation on the growth of Zea
mays was determined by planting 30 corn seeds in which 10 seeds were
irradiated with 10 krad, 10 seeds with 30 krad and another 10 seeds with
50 krad. Another 10 seeds left untreated was used as a control set-up.
Upon observation, the 10 krad treatment had the highest average height,
a percent germination and survival of 100 % while the 50 krad treatment
had the lowest average height, a percent germination of 60% and a
percent survival of 30%. From the observation, it was inferred that the
effect of gamma irradiation on the growth of Zea mays depends on the
dosage. The higher the dosage, the detrimental the effects to the growth
and development of the plant because of the higher frequency of mutation
it stimulates. The lower the dosage, the more positive the effects were on
the growth and germination of the corn plant like increased height and
100 % germination and survival.

INTRODUCTION

Despite the numerous environmental and anthropogenic destruction happening in our

planet, many species were still able to survive these selection pressures. One of the factors

that aid species to survive is mutation. Mutation is an essential process in the life cycle of an

organism that causes permanent and heritable changes in the DNA sequence (Mendioro, et al.,

2013). The changes in the DNA sequence is passed on to their offspring only if the mutation

occurred in the egg or sperm cells of an organism. It may occur spontaneously when there are

random errors in the replication of DNA or in Meiosis. It may also be induced with the use of

physical agents like gamma rays and x-rays or chemical agents like colchicine, nitrites and

nicotine (McClean, 1999).

In this study, induced mutation through irradiation with gamma rays was observed by

determining the effects on the growth and development of Zea mays. Gamma rays are

produced by Cobalt 60 which is highly radioactive (Whyte, 2014). It can penetrate deeply into

tissues due to its high energy. Gamma rays are a form of ionizing radiation that form ions or

charged particles in an irradiated tissue that may be damaged due to the interaction of the ions

or charged particles with DNA molecules (Whyte, 2014). Studies show that exposure to gamma

rays influences the germination time, root and shoot length of a plant (Borzouie, et al., 2010).

Low dosage of gamma rays stimulated cell division, growth and development in organisms but
at high dosage, gamma rays causes cell cycle arrest/damage that causes growth and

development inhibition on a particular organism (Jan, et al., 2014). Thus, the hypothesis for this

study is that seeds exposed to gamma rays stimulates the growth and development of Zea

mays in low dosage but inhibits the growth and development in high dosage.

This study aimed to determine the effects of induced mutation through irradiation of

gamma rays on the growth of Zea mays. The specific objectives were to:

1. differentiate the growth and development of Zea mays between a non-radiated and

irradiated corn seed and;

2. determine the effect of different dosage of irradiation on the growth and development

of Zea mays in terms of

a. Height

b. Percent Germination

c. Percent Survival

The study was conducted at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Biological Sciences

Building of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Laguna

from April 12 to May 16, 2016.

0 krad 10 krad 30 krad 50 krad

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The duration of the observation was 34 days. The planted Zea mays seeds were

observed in a botany near the parking lot of the Institute of Biological Sciences Building.

In determining the effects of induced mutation on the growth of Zea mays, forty (40)

seeds were gathered in which 10 were irradiated with 10 kilorad of gamma rays, another 10
irradiated with 30 kilorad and another 10 irradiated with 50 kilorad of gamma rays. The

remaining 10 was not treated and served as the control set-up. A small plot was used to dig four

hills with the aid of a shovel and other planting materials. The four hills contained the different

doses of irradiated corn seeds that was planted. The seeds were planted 5 cm apart on a hill

with each hill representing a specific treatment of radiation in terms of dosage.

Figure 1. Illustration of the set-ups with different gamma ray dosage treatments

After the planting, the height of the seeds were measured every after two days for 34

days, also taking down other physical observations. The germination time was also noted. The

gathered data was used for further computation and interpretation.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 detailed the number of plants observed and average height of plant in each

treatment per observation. From the data, it was observed that the control group which was not

exposed to gamma irradiation had the highest number of seeds, with a value of 5, which

germinated on the first observation as compared to the 10 krad treatment with 3 seeds, 30 krad
treatment with 1 seed and 50 krad treatment with 1 seed. Throughout the observation period, it

was observed that the seeds with 10 krad treatment had the highest number of seed that

germinated, which was 10 out of 10 seeds that were planted. As shown in the table, the higher

the dosage of gamma rays, the lower the numbers of the seeds that germinated. The 30 krad

treatment had 9 seeds that germinated while the 50 krad treatment had 6 seeds. In the 30 krad

and 50 krad treatment, the number of plants observed decreased mainly because the plant had

undergone mutation because of the high levels of gamma rays. Mutation in the DNA sequence

could result to detrimental damages in the cell which may lead to death (Nepali, 2013).

Table 1. Height measurements of Zea mays treated with different dosage of irradiated
gamma rays
Observati Date 0 krad 10 krad 30 krad 50 krad

on

Number

No. of Averag No. of Averag No. of Averag No. of Averag

plants e plants e plants e plants e

observe height observe height observe height observe height

d (cm) d (cm) d (cm) d (cm)

1 04/ 5 0.99 3 1.35 1 1.00 1 1.10

15
2 04/ 9 13.30 10 12.95 9 9.70 4 3.30

18

3 04/2 9 16.00 10 15.80 9 11.40 6 5.10

4 04/2 9 18.06 10 15.90 9 12.80 6 5.18

5 04/2 9 25.52 10 26.62 8 19.01 3 5.10

6 04/ 9 30.51 10 31.71 8 21.36 2 6.85

 27

7 04/2 9 27.78 10 29.40 8 18.88 1 6.00

8 05/0 9 33.83 10 38.50 9 21.39 1 7.00

9 05/0 9 43.20 10 43.80 8 27.00 1 8.00

10 05/0 9 50.33 10 53.25 7 38.29 0 -

11 05/0 9 52.56 10 51.70 7 31.85 1 10.00

12 05/ 9 59.10 10 60.60 8 41.8 0 -

11

13 05/1 9 53.80 10 63.05 7 30.65 0 -

14 05/1 9 65.09 10 64.70 8 42.44 3 11.67

Figure 2 illustrated the trend of the number of plants observed in each treatment after

every observation. The untreated (0 krad) seeds had the highest number of germinated seeds

during the first observation and then it increased significantly during the second observation and

stabilized until the last observation. The seeds treated with 10 krad dosage of gamma rays had

a lower number of seeds that germinated but during the second observation the number of

seeds that germinated increased higher than the untreated group. From the second

observation, the number of plants observed were stable until the last observation. As for the 30

krad treatment, the initial number of seeds that germinated was considerably low as compared

to the 0 krad and 10 krad treatment. It increased immensely at the second observation then

stabilized until the fourth observation. For the latter observations, the number of observed plants
was fluctuating which meant that death had occurred to some plants in that treatment. Lastly,

the 50 krad treatment had an equal initial number of germinated seeds as the 30 krad treatment.

It increased on the second observation and continued to fluctuate until the last observation.

Death was also observed in the 50 krad treatment. From the graph, it was displayed that the

highest number of germinated seeds/plants observed was the 10 krad treatment, followed with

the untreated group, then with the 30 krad treatment and the 50 krad treatment. It was

perceived that treatment with gamma rays irradiation caused a lower number of germinated

seeds at a high dosage but as the dosage decreases, the number of plants observed became

essentially higher because high stimulatory effect in early growth of Zea mays was due to a low

dosage of gamma rays (Nepali, 2013).

12

10

8
0 krad
10 krad
6 30 krad
50 krad
4

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Figure 2. Number of plants observed in each treatment per observation number/day

 Figure 3 displayed the curve of the average height measurements for each treatment per

observation. The untreated seeds and the 10 krad treatment had a very close fluctuating curve

appearance despite a few deviations. Both treatments had an increasing average height

throughout the observation period. Meanwhile, the 30 krad treatment had a curve lower than the

untreated and 10 krad treatment. The 30 krad treatment exhibited a fluctuating trend throughout

the observation which meant that there was an occurrence of death. The 50 krad treatment had

the lowest average height curve relative to the other treatments. It also exhibited fluctuations

due to the death experienced by the plants. As exhibited by the graph, the higher the dosage,

the lower the average plant height. This kind of relationship was mainly because the frequency

of mutations induced by radiation was directly proportional to the radiation dosage.

Consequently, the higher the dosage of radiation, the more mutations that could cause damage

in the corn plants may occur (Nepali, 2013). Thus, a lower dosage of irradiation produced an

increase in height of the plants because the dosage was not high enough to stimulate

detrimental mutations.
 70

60

50

0 krad
40
10 krad
30 krad
30
50 krad

20

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Figure 3. Average plant height (cm) measurements of corn seed in each treatment per

observation number/day

Table 2 showed the percent germination and percent survival of each treatment using

the formula below:

The computed values stated that the 10 krad treatment had the highest percent

germination compared to the other treatments. The 0 krad and 30 krad treatment had a similar

percent germination. Furthermore, the 50 krad treatment had the lowest percent germination. In

terms of survival, it depicted that the 10 krad treatment had a 100% survival, followed with the
untreated group with 90% survival. The 30 krad treatment had an 80% survival followed with the

lowest survival of 50 krad treatment that is 30%.

Table 2. Percent germination and percent survival of Zea mays in each treatment

0 krad 10 krad 30 krad 50 krad

Percent 90.00 % 100.00 % 90.00 % 60.00 %

Germination
Percent 90.00 % 100.00 % 80.00% 30.00%

Survival

Figure 4 showed the percent germination and percent survival of Zea mays in each

treatment. Evidently, the 10 krad treatment had the highest percent germination and percent

survival, which was 100 %, among all treatments. Moreover, it was noted that as the dosage of

the gamma rays increases, the percent germination and survival decreases because the

interaction of gamma rays with atoms produce free radicals that can damage fundamental

components of plants for growth and development (Ashraf, et al., 2003).

 100
90
80
70
60
50 Percent Germination

40 Percent Survival

30
20
10
0
0 krad 10 krad 30 krad 50 krad

Figure 4. Percent germination and percent survival of Zea mays in each treatment

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The effect of varying dosage of gamma irradiation on the growth of Zea mays was

determined through irradiating 30 corn seeds with different intensity of gamma rays. Four set-

ups were prepared in which 10 seeds was irradiated with 10 krad, another 10 seeds with 30

krad, and the remaining 10 seeds with 50 krad. Additional 10 seeds that were untreated were

utilized as a control group. The seeds were planted in a small plot with four hills representing

each treatment. The seeds were allowed to grow for observation through the measurement of

height every other 2 days in a span of 34 days.

From the computed data, it was observed that plants grown from seeds irradiated with

10 krad gamma rays had a higher average plant height, percent germination that was 100 %

and a percent survival that was 100 %. On the other hand, the 50 krad treatment had the lowest

average plant height, a percent germination of 60 % and a percent survival of 30 %.

 Therefore, the effects of gamma irradiation on the growth of Zea mays depend on the

dosage. At a lower dosage like 10 krad, positive effects like stimulated growth and germination

was observed but at a higher dosage detrimental damages like death was observed. However,

these statements could be further validated by conducting supplementary experiments with

regard to this. It is also recommended that the plants will be observed at a longer duration with

additional replicates to ensure the accuracy of data.

LITERATURE CITED

Ashraf, M., A.A. Cheema, M. Rashid and Z. Qamar. 2003. Effect of Gamma Rays on M1
Generation in Basmati Rice. Pakistan Journal of Botany 35(5): 791-795.

Borzouei A., M. Kafi, H. Khazaei, and A.A. Majdabadi. 2010. Effects of Gamma Radiation on
Germination and Physiological Aspects of wheat (Triticum aestivum l.) Seedlings.
Pakistan Journal of Botany 42(4): 2281-2290.

Jan, S., T. Parween, T.O. Siddiqi and Mahmooduzzafar. 2014. Effect of Gamma Radiation on
Morphological, Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of Plants and Plant Products. <
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215920315_Effect_of_gamma_radiation_on_m
orphological_biochemical_and_physiological_aspects_of_plants_and_plant_products>.
Accessed May 24, 2016.

Kereszetes, A. and E. Kovacs. 2002. Effect of Gamma and UV-B/C Radiation on Plant Cells.
Micron. 33(2):199-210

McClean P. 1999. Spontaneous and Induced Mutations. <

https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~mcclean/plsc431/mutation/mutation3.htm>. Accessed
May 24, 2016.

Mendioro, M.S., R.P. Laude, G.Q. Diaz, J.C. Mendoza and D.A. Ramirez. 2013. Genetics (A
Laboratory Manual). 13th ed. San Pablo City, Laguna: 7 Lakes Printing Press. p. 97

Nepali, M.R. 2013. Ionizing Radiation (Gamma Rays) and its Effect on Plant Morphology,
Physiology and Cytology. < http://mukeshramjalipb.blogspot.com/2013/03/ionizing-
radiation-gamma-rays-and-its.html>. Accessed May 25, 2016.

Whyte, D. 2014. Rad Radishes: Effects of Irradiation on Seed Germination. <

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/project_ideas/PlantBio_p039.shtml>. Accessed May 24, 2016