DNA damage in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) from the Chernobyl region detected by use of the comet assay
DNA damage in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) from the Chernobyl region detected by use of the comet assay
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cbpc.2009.11.006
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发表时间：
2010-04-01
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Wyatt, Michael D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bonisoli-Alquati, Andrea;Voris, Andrew;Wyatt, Michael D.
我们调查了居住在切尔诺贝利地区的仓燕（Hirundo rustica）血细胞中的DNA损伤水平，以评估长期暴露于低水平放射性污染是否会继续诱导自由生活动物种群的遗传损伤。在不同背景辐射水平的地点，包括一个相对未受污染的地区，采集了家燕的血液样本。DNA损伤程度使用碱性（pH = 12.1）彗星测定法进行评估，这是一种强大而敏感的电泳技术，广泛应用于从生物监测到临床研究的研究中。我们发现，与在低水平地点取样的燕子相比，生活在切尔诺贝利周围地区的谷仓燕子的DNA损伤水平（以DNA迁移的程度为指标）有所增加。本研究结果与以往的研究结果一致，即在放射性核素污染严重的地区繁殖的燕子，其突变率、氧化应激、形态畸变和肿瘤发生率均有所增加。总的来说，这些结果表明，即使在切尔诺贝利核电站事故发生20年后，长期暴露于放射性污染物中，仍然会导致自由生活动物细胞中的DNA损伤。(C) 2009爱思唯尔公司版权所有。
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 20 years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, continues to induce DNA damage in cells of free-living animals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.