Dozens of dogs that have prowled Chernobyl for decades may have survived in the radiated landscape by mutating, new research suggests.
Two separate populations of stray canines continue to live in the Ukrainian city, which suffered a devastating nuclear disaster at its powerplant on April 26, 1986.
Two people were killed instantly in the blast, while some 28 staff members and emergency workers died from radiation poisoning in the days after following the explosion.
The catastrophic leak of toxic material sparked a mass evacuation, and led authorities to heavily regulate the access to the area most affected by radioactive contamination, a square zone measuring approximately 1,615 miles.
To the suprise of many scientists, various species of animal are flourishing 40 years on from the disaster, including the canine population.
New research used 500 dogs living around the city, and found evidence suggesting their genes had adapted in strange ways to the conditions.
The team identified two main groups of dogs, one of which live around the power plant itself, while another roamed Chernobyl City, about 10 miles away, suggesting the two populations are distinct and rarely interbreed.
Head researcher Dr. Norman J. Kleiman said: “In addition to classifying the population dynamics within these dogs at both locations, we took the first steps towards understanding how chronic exposure to multiple environmental hazards may have impacted these populations.”
Dr. Matthew Breen from the NC State team that is collaborating with Dr Kleiman says the overarching question is, “does an environmental disaster of this magnitude have a genetic impact on life in the region?”
In their analysis of the dogs’ DNA, the first time scientists have delved into Chernobyl dogs’ genetics, they identified 391 outlier regions in the genomes that differed between the two populations.
Dr. Breen explained: “Think of these regions as markers, or signposts, on a highway. They identify areas within the genome where we should look more closely at nearby genes.”
Intriguingly, some of these outlier regions are pointing in the direction of genes associated with genetic repair, but researchers insist there’s much more to learn about what’s behind the data.
“At this stage, we cannot say for sure that any genetic alterations are in response to the multigenerational and complex exposures; we have a lot more work to do to determine if that is the case,” Dr. Breen added.
Ph.D. candidate Megan Dillion, a lead author the NC State study, said: “The question we must answer now is why are there striking genetic differences between the two dog populations?
“Are the differences just due to genetic drift, or are they due to the unique environmental stressors at each location?”
Dr Breen suggested that uncovering these answers would be helpful to humanity too.
The expert continued: “By teasing out whether or not the genetic changes we detected in these dogs are the canine genome’s response to the exposures the populations have faced, we may be able to understand how the dogs survived in such a hostile environment and what that might mean for any population – animal or human – that experiences similar exposures.”