Instruments required to study the biological effects of low level radiation on fish models

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A great deal of research has been conducted on the effects of radiation and pollutants in humans,however thetraditional belief has been that if man is protected than other animals will be as well. Recent research indicates that this may not be the case. It is now known that some animals are a great deal more sensitive to pollutants than others, which means that the ecosystems in which animals live could be negatively altered resulting in an unbalanced system. Very little research is available for the effects of low dose radiation exposures on aquatic organisms such as fish. This grant proposal requests funds to purchase equipment needed to support a unique research program aimed at understanding the effects of very low levels of radiation combined with other pollutants that damage DNA in non-human organisms. We intend to look at damage to DNA directly in exposed organisms by making special chromosome probes, and also look at the effects of that exposure in several generations of their offspring using mutation assays currently under development in our laboratory. This will help us understand the long-term effects of low level radiation on aquatic ecosystems. In order to accomplish these goals, several important research tools and instruments are required, such specialized incubators that will allow us to grow cell cultures derived from the fish and other non-human organisms.