Dogs living near Chernobyl nuclear site evolving faster than they do elsewhere: Study – Firstpost

A recent study has revealed that dogs living in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site are experiencing rapid evolutionary changes, outpacing the development of dog populations in other regions.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor in northern Ukraine — then part of the Soviet Union — exploded on April 26, 1986, sending a massive plume of radiation into the sky. Nearly four decades later, the Chernobyl Power Plant and many parts of the surrounding area remain uninhabited — by humans, at least.

According to a Popular Mechanics magazine report, in the decades since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, animals of all kinds have flourished in the absence of humans. Among the thriving wildlife are thousands of feral dogs, many of which are descendants of pets abandoned during the hasty evacuation of the area.

Now, as the 40th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident approaches, biologists are turning their attention to the creatures living within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) — an area roughly the size of Yosemite National Park — to study how prolonged exposure to radiation may have impacted their genetic makeup and potentially accelerated their evolution, added the report.

Researchers from the University of South Carolina and the National Human Genome Research Institute have started analysing the DNA of 302 feral dogs living in or near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to explore how radiation might have impacted their genetic makeup, reported Popular Mechanics.

Their findings were recently published in Science Advances.

“Do they have mutations that they’ve acquired that allow them to live and breed successfully in this region? What challenges do they face and how have they coped genetically? were some of the questions before the scientists,” Popular Mechanics quoted co-author Elaine Ostrander, a dog genomics expert at the National Human Genome Research Institute, as saying to The New York Times.

The notion that radiation can accelerate natural evolution isn’t new. The practice of purposefully irradiating seeds in outer space to induce advantageous mutations, for example, is now a well-worn method for developing crops well-suited for a warming world.

Scientists have studied various animals in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) for years, including bacteria, rodents, and birds. A 2016 study noted that Eastern tree frogs (Hyla orientalis), typically green, were more often black in the CEZ. Researchers believed this colour change was due to a mutation in melanin, which helped the frogs better manage radiation exposure.

This raised the question: could Chernobyl’s feral dogs be experiencing similar genetic shifts?

Recent research found distinct genetic differences between dogs living near the Chernobyl power plant and those just 10 miles away in Chernobyl city. While these findings suggest rapid evolutionary changes due to radiation exposure, they are only an initial step toward confirming this theory, reported Popular Mechanics

An environmental scientist told Science News that identifying radiation-induced mutations is challenging, given the potential for confounding factors like inbreeding.

Still, this study lays the groundwork for more research into how radiation affects larger mammals. By comparing the DNA of Chernobyl’s dogs to those from non-irradiated areas, scientists can better understand the impact of radiation on evolution.

While no definitive conclusions have been drawn yet, Chernobyl — once considered a wasteland — continues to offer a rare opportunity to study the effects of radiation on natural adaptation.

With inputs from agencies