Chernobyl’s Stray Dogs Are Genetically Different—But Radiation Is Not the Cause

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine. it explodedreleasing large amounts of radioactive material into the environment. Nearly 40 years later, stray dogs roaming near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant have different genes than those in nearby Chernobyl—but maybe not because of radiation.

Researchers from North Carolina State (NC State) University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have determined that the genetic differences between dogs in the city of Chernobyl and dogs near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) may not have been driven by changes in radiation. . . Their research, published in December 27 learning published in the magazine PLoS Oneit provides information on how environmental degradation affects the neighborhood over time.

“We’ve been working with two dogs that, separated by only 16 kilometers, or about 10 miles, are different,” said NC State’s Matthew Breen, who participated in the study, at the university. words. “We’re trying to figure out if exposure over many years to environmental toxins like radiation, lead, etc., can explain some of the differences.” In previous genetic analysisBreen and his colleagues identified nearly 400 regions along the genome that represent differences between the two canine breeds, and some that contain genes related to repairing DNA damage.

In a recent study, the group confirmed that the city’s dogs were similar to dogs in neighboring countries such as Russia and Poland, establishing them as representative representatives of the NPP group. They then looked for defects and mutations in the NPP dogs that would have multiplied over time. For example, Germline DNA mutations are inherited mutations in the DNA of reproductive cells. The researchers began their analysis at the chromosomal level, then gradually went into smaller and smaller regions.

“Think of it like using the zoom on your phone’s camera to get more information – we start by looking at the main subject and then zoom in,” Breen said. “We know that, for example, exposure to high levels of radiation can cause instability from the chromosomal level down. Although these dogs are 30 or more generations removed from the 1986 disaster, mutations can still be identified if they give the original dogs a chance of survival. But We did not find any such evidence in these dogs.”

In other words, the researchers did not find genetic changes that could have been caused by exposure to radiation. The evolutionary stress caused by the nuclear accident, however, would have resulted in genetic differences between the city dogs and the NPP dogs.

“In human terms, this would be like studying a population that has been removed for hundreds of years from the one that was there at the time of the disaster,” said Megan Dillon of NC State, who led the study. “It is possible that the dogs that survived long enough to breed already had genes that helped them survive. So there was probably a lot of selection to begin with, and then the dogs at the power station just kept away from the city dwellers. Investigating this question is the most important thing we are doing now.”

The negative effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster were, in fact, not only increased radiation, said Kleiman of Columbia University, who also participated in the study. Toxins including heavy metals, lead powder, pesticides, and asbestos (a carcinogenic salt) were released into the environment during the cleanup. The high impact of a nuclear accident on nearby dogs provides important information about how future accidents may affect human health.

“There is a need to continue to study the health of the environment during such large-scale disasters,” Kleiman said. , and we need to understand the health risks and how to protect people.”

It’s also refreshing to know that the puppies roaming around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant have nothing to do with wild dogs. Chernobyl Diaries.