EVALUATION OF THE FATTY ACID DESATURASE 3 GENES STABILITY IN FLAX SEEDS HARVESTED FROM RADIO-CONTAMINATED AREA NEAR CHERNOBYL

Environment around Chernobyl recoveres from nuclear accident in 1986 and provides a base for plant adaptation research. Here, the initial platform was established for molecular screening of flax genome affected by radioactive contamination. Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) cultivated in the radio-contaminated, and remediated experimental field near Chernobyl was investigated. Specifically, two gene isoforms of FAD3 gene, FAD3A and FAD3B, were evaluated using the restriction analysis, and direct sequencing. The aim of the presented study was to identify mutations, and single nucleotide polymorphisms within the FAD3A and FAD3B genes. The investigation was performed more than 25 years after Chernobyl accident. Therefore, the effect of chronic low dose rate irradiation on flax plants was considered.