A recent study revealed the impressive impacts that the street dogs of Chernobyl may have suffered in their genetic codes due to the excess radiation in the region.
The nuclear accident that occurred 36 years ago is still widely being studied by scientists. Now, a group of researchers has studied how this radiation may have affected a pack of wild dogs roaming the Red Forest.
In the study published in Canine Medicine and Genetics, the scientists explain that they collected blood samples from dogs living near the former Chernobyl power plant. Although they are related to German shepherds, they discovered that the dogs were breeding independently.
By analyzing the dogs’ DNA, the team identified 391 atypical regions in their genomes that differed between the two groups, some of them pointing to genetic repair after exposures similar to Chernobyl.
“Somehow, two small populations of dogs managed to survive in that highly toxic environment,” said Dr. Norman Kleiman, the lead researcher of the study, according to a report from The Independent.
The scientists emphasized that there is still much work to be done on the topic of genetic studies related to the Chernobyl disaster. They hope that future studies will reveal the genetic effects of radiation exposure and look into the adverse health effects of other nuclear or environmental disasters, both in animals and humans.
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