Scientific Writing, March 3. A genetic study of 302 wild dogs from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (ZEC) has identified canine populations that are genetically different from each other and dogs from other parts of the world.
The study argues that “the unique genetic diversity of these dogs” makes them “ideal candidates” for future studies aimed at understanding the long-term genetic effects of highly radioactive environments on the health of large mammal populations.
The research, details of which are published this Friday in Science Advances, was led by Gabriella Spatola, of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the University of South Carolina, and Elaine Ostrander, of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Shortly after the greatest nuclear disaster in history, which occurred in Chernobyl in April 1986, the Soviet government ordered the evacuation of the area surrounding the nuclear power plant (CNPP) and the slaughter of domestic animals.
The zec has been divided into four concentric zones. Of these, the fourth (the closest to the plant and the most dangerous) has a radius of 30 kilometers.
Over the years, the lack of humans has favored the return of wildlife and the presence of wild animals, some of them, like dogs, descendants of the domestic animals that remained there.
Some studies have looked at the genetic effects of exposure to ionizing radiation (it’s been known to increase genetic mutation rates in various plant and animal species), but it’s still unclear how this might affect populations of large animals like dogs.
To find out, Spatola and his team used blood samples from 302 wild dogs collected between 2017 and 2019 by the Chernobyl Dog Research Initiative, which since 2017 has been providing veterinary care to these dogs and collecting samples for genetic analysis.
Samples were taken from dogs living in the city of Chernobyl (15 km) and in Slavutych (45 km).
The team identified 15 complex family structures unique to the Chernobyl population compared to other dogs around the world, and with large genomic variations within and between geographic locations of the ZEC, suggesting that these dogs move between sites, live close together and breed freely. .
In view of these data, the study concludes that “Chernobyl’s dog population has great potential to inform studies of environmental resource management in a burgeoning population.”
CRITICISM OF THE STUDY
However, speaking to SMC Spain, James Smith, from the University of Portsmouth (UK), believes that the study “only shows that there is a different mix of races and families in Chernobyl compared to d other places, which is not a surprising finding”. , given that the current population depends on the particular mix of breeds that survived the domestic animal cull in 1986.”
He adds: “I am surprised that the authors do not clearly state in the article that their results do not demonstrate that the radiation is causally related to differences in the population structure of the Chernobyl dogs” and that they claim that these dogs may be genetically distinct. . due to radiation when the article “presents no evidence to support a causal relationship between population structure and radiation dose”.
Along the same lines, Germán Orizaola of the Spanish University of Oviedo believes that the study only describes the structure of the wild Chernobyl dog population, but since it does not include data on the exposure to radiation, it is not used to study the effects. radiation in these animals.
In addition, the Spanish researcher points out, the work was carried out between 2017 and 2019, when radiation levels in the area were reduced by more than 90% since the accident, and the most harmful isotopes for living organisms, like I-131 have been missing for decades.