CHLOROPLAST STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHANGES AS BIOMARKERS OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION

The aim was to confirm the hypothesis of possibility to use the chloroplast structural and functional changes in higher plants as biomarkers to assess heavy metal contamination. Chloroplast ultra-structural changes of Pisum sativum L were detected using the transmission electron microscopy. This work deals with studies of chloroplast structure responses to a high content of copper (250 μmМ) and zinc (400 μmМ). Data on changes in the structure of chloroplasts in particular, heterogeneity in the grain thylakoid packing, increase of interthylakoid gaps and thickness of chloroplast grain thylakoids in comparison with controls were obtained. The results of studies on structural and functional chloroplasts changes offer challenges for their use as markers for an early diagnostics of abiotic stress effects and in biotechnological studies to produce novel advanced varieties of crops resistant to stress.