When the nuclear power plant reactor Chernobyl In Ukraine, he exploded during a security test on the night of April 26, 1986, many domestic dogs had to be abandoned by their owners.
Left behind after the accident, these animals not only survived, but also reproduced over almost four decades, forming a unique dog population that continues to inhabit the Chernobyl (ZEC) exclusion zone.
Concerned about how radiation exposure is affecting the immune system, disease development and life expectancy of these animals, teams of researchers have investigated their adaptation.
One of these studies, Posted in 2023 at Science Advancesanalyzed the DNA of 302 wild dogs that lived near the plant comparing them with others who lived between 15 to 45 kilometers from the disaster site.
In a statement, co -author Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the National Institute of Research of the Human Genoma, says the research issue was: “How do you survive in a hostile environment like this for 15 generations?”
His colleague Tim Mousseau, a professor at the University of South Carolina, says that among mammals in general, canids “provide an incredible tool to observe the impacts of this type of environment.”
The analysis revealed that dogs that live specifically in the nuclear plant have developed unique genetic characteristics that distinguish them from other studied populations.
Chernobyl dogs
Although he has made frequent visits to Chernobyl since 1999, Mousseau only found semisselvagem dogs in 2017, in an expedition aimed at providing veterinary care to animals.
At the time, he began collecting blood from dogs that, according to the researchers, seem to be descendants of pets that residents were forced to abandon when they evacuated the area.
Since then, a small crowd of dogs has lived in the place, fueled by the so -called “liquidators”, about 600,000 people who participated in ZEC containment and cleaning operations, and, more recently, by tourists and influencers.
At the time of the research, at least 250 mutts lived inside and around the plant, amid used fuel processing installations and the shadow of the collapsed reactor.
Still within 2,600 km2 From the exclusion zone (an area slightly larger than our Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park in Goiás), hundreds of other dogs roam excitedly, but in more distant regions.
At first the authors thought these dogs would have mingled over time and would be very similar. But genetic data revealed packs living in areas of high, low and medium levels of radiation exposure .
“It was a huge milestone for us,” Ostrander explained in a press release. “And what is surprising is that we can even identify families [cerca de 15 diferentes]”, Celebrated.
What has the first genetic study of Chernobyl dogs revealed?
The study was the first to characterize “a domestic species in Chernobyl, establishing its importance for genetic studies on the effects of exposure to low -term and long -term ionizing radiation,” the authors say.
“We can compare them and we can say: ok, which is different, what has changed, what has been changing, what has evolved, what helps you, what harm you at DNA level?” Says Ostrander.
The results showed that Chernobyl plant dogs have greater intrapopulating genetic similarity, ie they have more similar genes than other dog groups in different locations.
This suggests that the unique conditions of the area have caused a unique evolutionary process of adaptation to the highly radioactive environment which resulted in a more homogeneous set of genes within the group.
At first, it is as if dogs living in the Chernobyl plant have developed a distinct “genetic signature”, probably due to the selective pressure of the radiated zone over decades.
Still, warns Mousseau on Science News, it is difficult to say for sure whether the mutations were induced by radiation or other effects, such as mating between genetically similar individuals (endogamy).
In any case, the study delivered, more than an explanation, a model of investigation of the effects of radiation in larger mammals and its impact on the natural evolution of animals under “continuous environmental aggression”, and even in the environments of high radiation of space.
Was this content originally published in how did Chernobyl dogs survive for 15 generations? Study explains on the website CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
