It is known that radiation has a negative effect on most organisms that come in contact with it but there is still a lot to learn about its ecological and evolutionary effects. Researchers such as Ruiz-González et al (2016) have been looking for a way to recover areas that have been affected by radiation, such as Chernobyl. Ruiz-González et al (2016), isolated bacteria from three study areas around Chernobyl differing in background ionizing radiation levels and one control study site in Denmark. Each bacterial community was exposed to four different gamma (ϒ) radiation doses ranging from 0.46 to 3.96 kGϒ.
Population Size of Bacteria Collected. The figure above represents the population sizes of the bacteria isolated from three different study areas around Chernobyl and one control site in Denmark (blue). Each population was divided into high background radiation intensity (red), intermediate background radiation intensity (orange), and low background radiation intensity (yellow).
With this study, they were able to see how the survival of bacterial colonies depend on the levels of radiation they are exposed to. The bacterium that was isolated from an intermediate background radiation level site had a higher survival rate and was able to produce more colonies than the other bacterial communities. Ruiz-González et al (2016), suggests that long-term effects of radiation in natural populations could be an important factor in selective pressure on bacteria traits, which can facilitate its survival. However, further studies are still necessary in order to bring humans back into Chernobyl without any negative effects.
Original Article:
Ruiz-González M. X, Czirják G. A, Genevaux P, Møller A. P, Mousseau T. A, Heeb P (2016). Resistance Of Feather-Associated Bacteria to Intermediate Levels of Ionizing Radiation near Chernobyl. Scientific Reports 6: 22969
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