Reduced reproductive success in Drosophila melanogaster from radioactively contaminated regions of Ukraine

  • I. A. Kozeretska Department of General and Molecular Genetics, National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv Ukraine, 01033, Kyiv, Volodymyrska str., 64
  • O. V. Protsenko Department of General and Molecular Genetics, National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv Ukraine, 01033, Kyiv, Volodymyrska str., 64
  • I. V. Kunda-Pron’ Department of Biology and Chemistry, Drogobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University Ukraine, 82100, Drohobych, Shevchenko str., 23
  • B. A. Fuller Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina USA, 29208, South Carolina, Columbia
  • A. P. Møller Laboratoire de Parasitologie Evolutive, CNRS UMR 7103, Université Pierre et Marie Curie France, 75252, Paris, Cedex 05, quai St. Bernard, 7, CC 237
  • T. A. Mousseau Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina USA, 29208, South Carolina, Columbia

Abstract

Aim. The goal of our study was to assess the effect of background radiation on the reproductive system of wild Drosophila melanogaster from Ukraine. Methods. In the present study we addressed the fertility and gonadal dysgenesis in the progeny of wild caught females from each of the studied populations. Fertility was measured as the average number of progeny of 30 females using analysis of variance and Tukey’s multiple comparisons method. Gonadal asymmetry was assessed in 50 individuals of each sex by the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Results. Populations from Chornobyl and those collected nearby the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant cooling pond demonstrated the lowest fertility. The degree of donadal dysgenesis showed a weak correlation with the level of radioactive contamination. Conclusion. Our results support the hypothesis that chronic radiation leads to aberrant development of gonads and reduced fertility in populations from radioactively contaminated areas.

Key words: natural populations, fertility, gonadal dysgenesis, Drosophila melanogaster.