The long-term impacts of radiocontaminants (and the associated risks) for ecosystems are still subject to vast societal and scientific debate while wildlife is chronically exposed to various sources and levels of either environmental or anthropogenic ionizing radiation from the use of nuclear energy. The present study aimed to assess induced phenotypical responses in both male and female gammarids after short-term continuous γ-irradiation, acting as a typical well-characterized genotoxic stressor that can interact directly with living matter. In particular, we started characterizing the effects using standardized measurements for biological effects on few biological functions for this species, especially feeding inhibition tests, molting, and reproductive ability, which have already been proven for chemical substances and are likely to be disturbed by ionizing radiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIonising γ radiation produces reactive oxygen species by water radiolysis, providing an interesting model approach for studying oxidative stress in plants. Three-week old plants of Arabidopsis thaliana were exposed to a low dose rate (25 mGy h) of γ radiation for up to 21 days. This treatment had no effect on plant growth and morphology, but it induced chronic oxidation of lipids which was associated with an accumulation of reactive carbonyl species (RCS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOutcrossing can be advantageous in a changing environment because it promotes the purge of deleterious mutations and increases the genetic diversity within a population, which may improve population persistence and evolutionary potential. Some species may, therefore, switch their reproductive mode from inbreeding to outcrossing when under environmental stress. This switch may have consequences on the demographic dynamics and evolutionary trajectory of populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh levels of ionizing radiation (IR) are known to induce neurogenesis defects with harmful consequences on brain morphogenesis and cognitive functions, but the effects of chronic low to moderate dose rates of IR remain largely unknown. In this study, we aim at defining the main molecular pathways impacted by IR and how these effects can translate to higher organizational levels such as behavior. Adult zebrafish were exposed to gamma radiation for 36 days at 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective was to investigate the effects of ionizing radiation induced in zebrafish early life stages by coupling responses obtained at the molecular (genotoxicity, ROS production, gene expression) and phenotypic (tissue alteration, embryo-larval development) levels. Here we present results obtained after exposure of 3 hpf larvae to 10 days of gamma irradiation at 3.3 × 10, 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe long-term consequences of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) that occurred on March 2011, have been scarcely studied on wildlife. We sampled Japanese tree frogs (Dryophytes japonicus), in a 50 -km area around the FDNPP to test for an increase of DNA damages and variation of DNA methylation level. The ambient dose rate ranged between 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContamination of the environment after the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) disasters led to the exposure of a large number of humans and wild animals to radioactive substances. However, the sub-lethal consequences induced by these absorbed radiological doses remain understudied and the long-term biological impacts largely unknown. We assessed the biological effects of chronic exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) on embryonic development by exposing zebrafish embryo from fertilization and up to 120 hours post-fertilization (hpf) at dose rates of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmission of ionizing radiation (IR) in the environment is a natural phenomenon which can be enhanced by human activities. Ecosystems are then chronically exposed to IR. But environmental risk assessment of chronic exposure suffers from a lack of knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiving species are chronically exposed to environmental ionizing radiations from sources that can be overexpressed by nuclear accidents. In invertebrates, reproduction is the most radiosensitive studied endpoint, likely to be connected with aging. Surprisingly, aging is a sparsely investigated endpoint after chronic ionizing radiation, whereas understanding it is of fundamental interest in biology and medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpecies are chronically exposed to ionizing radiation, a natural phenomenon which can be enhanced by human activities. The induced toxicity mechanisms still remain unclear and seem depending on the mode of exposure, i.e.
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