Subject: Re: Radiation Detection and Tradescantia

From: [email-masked] (S. I. Beale)
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 20:36:22 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
(Kevin B. Jones) wrote:

>Has anyone run across a reference to or know of any information about
>Tradescantia sp. and its ability to detect low levels of radiation?

Where do these fringe notions come from?

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin B. Jones)
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 20:10:52 -0500

-- 
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 08:52:00 UNDEFINED

>Where do these fringe notions come from?

I think they come from botanists!

The hairs on the stamen filaments in Tradescantia have very nice, large cells 
that can be easily examined with a light microscope.  It is my understanding 
that these cells mutate, more specifically change color from blue to pink, in 
response to radiation.  I've been told (by folks with PhD's) that if you 
examine the ratio of normal to mutated cells, you can get a rough estimation 
of radioactivity and that the plants have been grown near nuclear power plants 
as a sort of canary-in-the-coal-mine bioassay.

Mind you, this is what I've *been told*.  If anyone has specific articles or 
experience with this, I'd love to hear it.

Monique Reed
Texas A&M

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From: [email-masked] (Kay Klier)
Date: 23 Aug 1996 07:29:22 GMT

>Tradescantia sp. and its ability to detect low levels of radiation?

Try these three for starters:
 Ichikawa, S.  1972.  Jap. J. Genet 47(6):411-421
 Ma, T. 1982.  Mutat. Res. Rev. Gen. Toxicol. 99(3): 293-302
 Nauman, Underbrink, Sparrow.  1975  Radiation Res. 62(1): 79-

Kay Klier   [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin B. Jones)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:37:54 -0500

Thank you for your reply.  I was asked for the information and could not
find anything on it by a friend of mine there at TAMU.  You may know him, 
Ian S. Hamilton. 

Kevin

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From: [email-masked] (Kevin B. Jones)
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:38:37 -0500

Thanks.

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Kay