Search

Abstract: We investigated levels of DNA damage in blood cells of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) inhabiting the Chernobyl region to evaluate whether chronic exposure to low-level radioactive contamination continues to induce genetic damage in free-living populations of animals. Blood samples were obtained from barn swallows collected at sites with different background levels of radiation, including a relatively uncontaminated area. The extent of DNA damage was evaluated using the alkaline (pH=12.1) comet assay, a robust and sensitive electrophoresis-based technique widely employed in research ranging from biomonitoring to clinical studies. We found that levels of DNA damage, as indexed by the extent of DNA migration, were increased in barn swallows living in areas surrounding Chernobyl when compared to swallows sampled at low-level sites. The results we obtained are consistent with previous findings on this same species, which showed that swallows breeding in areas heavily contaminated with radionuclides have increased mutation rates, higher oxidative stress and incidence of morphological aberrations and tumors. Overall, these results indicate that chronic exposure to radioactive contaminants, even 20years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, continues to induce DNA damage in cells of free-living animals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Chernobyl nuclear accident produced the largest unintended release of radionuclides in history, with dramatic consequences for humans and other organisms. Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to reduce circulating and stored levels of specific antioxidants in birds and humans, thus potentially increasing oxidative stress. However, overall effects of radioactive exposure on oxidative status have never been investigated in any free ranging vertebrate. We measured plasma antioxidant capacity and concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites in adult barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) from colonies with variable background radiation levels in the Chernobyl region in Ukraine and Belarus. We predicted that antioxidants would decrease while reactive oxygen metabolites would increase with exposure to increasing levels of radiation at the breeding sites. Consistent with this expectation, radiation level positively predicted plasma concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites, whereas no significant covariation was found with non-enzymatic plasma antioxidant capacity. An index of oxidative stress was also larger in barn swallows exposed to high contamination levels. Thus, radioactive contamination appeared to be responsible for the increased generation of reactive oxygen metabolites and the imbalance between reactive oxygen metabolites and non-enzymatic plasma antioxidant capacity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Radiation has negative effects on survival of animals including humans, although the generality of this claim is poorly documented under low-dose field conditions. Because females may suffer disproportionately from the effects of radiation on survival due to differences in sex roles during reproduction, radiation-induced mortality may result in male-skewed adult sex ratios., Methodology/principal Finding: We estimated the effects of low-dose radiation on adult survival rates in birds by determining age ratios of adults captured in mist nets during the breeding season in relation to background radiation levels around Chernobyl and in nearby uncontaminated control areas. Age ratios were skewed towards yearlings, especially in the most contaminated areas, implying that adult survival rates were reduced in contaminated areas, and that populations in such areas could only be maintained through immigration from nearby uncontaminated areas. Differential mortality in females resulted in a strongly male-skewed sex ratio in the most contaminated areas. In addition, males sang disproportionately commonly in the most contaminated areas where the sex ratio was male skewed presumably because males had difficulty finding and acquiring mates when females were rare. The results were not caused by permanent emigration by females from the most contaminated areas because none of the recaptured birds had changed breeding site, and the proportion of individuals with morphological abnormalities did not differ significantly between the sexes for areas with normal and higher levels of contamination., Conclusions/significance: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the adult survival rate of female birds is particularly susceptible to the effects of low-dose radiation, resulting in male skewed sex ratios at high levels of radiation. Such skewed age ratios towards yearlings in contaminated areas are consistent with the hypothesis that an area exceeding 30,000 km(2) in Chernobyl's surroundings constitutes an ecological trap that causes dramatic excess mortality.

Sperm are highly susceptible to reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage sperm DNA and structure, resulting in reduced fertilizing capacity. Exposure to radioactive contamination can also impair sperm swimming behavior and fertilizing ability, both through a reduction of sperm DNA integrity and via an increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the relationship between individual oxidative status and sperm swimming behavior has never been investigated in any wild population of animals exposed to radioactive contamination. We studied the motility of sperm collected from barn swallows, Hirundo rustica, breeding under different levels of radioactive contamination following the Chernobyl accident in 1986, in relation to individual oxidative status. We tested the hypothesis that the degree of impairment of sperm swimming behavior by radioactive contamination depended on plasma antioxidant capacity, the level of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs) and oxidative stress (sensu Costantini et al. 2006), a better oxidative status being associated with higher sperm motility. Sperm behavior parameters were subjected to principal component (PC) analysis, which extracted four PCs explaining 86% of the variance in sperm motility. PC2, representing sperm with high track velocity and ample lateral head displacement, was significantly predicted by the interaction between radiation level and either oxidative damage or oxidative stress. Contrary to our predictions, the highest values of PC2 were associated with relatively high radiation levels, particularly for high levels of either ROMs or oxidative stress. In addition, there was a tendency for values of PC3 (representing the percent of motile sperm) and PC4 (representing slow sperm with high beat cross frequency) to depend on the interaction between radiation level and total plasma antioxidant protection. Our results confirm the importance of oxidative status in determining the genetic and physiological outcome of exposure to radioactive contamination, complementing previous studies relating sperm abnormality to circulating levels of specific antioxidants. Our results also complement previous evidence that oxidative damage of sperm was negatively related to sperm motility, thus indicating a possible trade-off in quenching pro-oxidant compounds in the plasma and the seminal fluid., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Animals living in areas contaminated by radioactive material from Chernobyl suffer from increased oxidative stress and low levels of antioxidants. Therefore, normal development of the nervous system is jeopardized as reflected by high frequencies of developmental errors, reduced brain size and impaired cognitive abilities in humans. Alternatively, associations between psychological effects and radiation have been attributed to post-traumatic stress in humans., Methodology/principal Finding: Here we used an extensive sample of 550 birds belonging to 48 species to test the prediction that even in the absence of post-traumatic stress, there is a negative association between relative brain size and level of background radiation. We found a negative association between brain size as reflected by external head volume and level of background radiation, independent of structural body size and body mass. The observed reduction in brain size in relation to background radiation amounted to 5% across the range of almost a factor 5,000 in radiation level. Species differed significantly in reduction in brain size with increasing background radiation, and brain size was the only morphological character that showed a negative relationship with radiation. Brain size was significantly smaller in yearlings than in older individuals., Conclusions/significance: Low dose radiation can have significant effects on normal brain development as reflected by brain size and therefore potentially cognitive ability. The fact that brain size was smaller in yearlings than in older individuals implies that there was significant directional selection on brain size with individuals with larger brains experiencing a viability advantage.