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Exposure to ionizing radiation and liver histopathology in the tree frogs of Chornobyl (Ukraine)
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal ecology. Spanish Res Council, Donana Biol Stn, CSIC, EBD, Seville 41092, Spain..ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9007-2643
Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Postgrad Program Biotechnol & Environm Monitoring, BR-18052780 Sorocaba, SP, Brazil.;Univ Fed Goias, Inst Trop Pathol & Publ Hlth, BR-74605050 Goiania, GO, Brazil..
Univ Oviedo, Univ Oviedo CSIC Princip Asturias, Biodivers Res Inst, IMIB, Mieres 33600, Asturias, Spain.;Univ Oviedo, Dept Biol Organisms & Syst, Zool Unit, Oviedo 33071, Asturias, Spain..ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6748-966X
2023 (English)In: Chemosphere, ISSN 0045-6535, E-ISSN 1879-1298, Vol. 315, article id 137753Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Ionizing radiation has the potential to damage organic molecules and decrease the health and survival of wildlife. The accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Plant (Ukraine, 1986) led to the largest release of radioactive material to the environment. Among the different organs of a vertebrate, the liver plays a crucial role in detoxification processes, and has been used as a biomarker to investigate cellular damage in ecotoxicological research. Here, we examined the impact of the exposure to the current levels of ionizing radiation present in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone on the liver of Eastern tree frogs (Hyla orientalis). We quantified the area of melanomacrophage cells and morphological variables of hepatocytes, two cell types often used to estimate damage caused by pol-lutants in vertebrates. First, we investigated whether these hepatic parameters were indicative of frog (indi-vidual) condition. Then, we analyzed the effect of individual absorbed dose rates and ambient radiation levels on frog livers. Most of the studied parameters were correlated with individual body condition (a good predictor of amphibian fitness and survival). We did not detect marked morphological lesions in the liver of frogs captured in medium-high radiation environments. The area occupied by melanomacrophages and the morphology of he-patocytes did not change across a gradient of radiocontamination covering two orders of magnitude. Once accounting for body condition and sampling locality, the area of melanomacrophages was lower in areas with high radiation levels. Finally, the area occupied by melanomacrophages was not linked to dorsal skin coloration. Our results indicate that current levels of radiation experienced by tree frogs in Chornobyl do not cause histo-pathological damage in their liver. These results agree with previous physiological work in the species in the Chornobyl area, and encourage further molecular and physiological research to fully disentangle the current impact of the Chornobyl accident on wildlife.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2023. Vol. 315, article id 137753
Keywords [en]
Amphibians, Hepatic melanomacrophages, Hepatological biomarkers, Histopathology, Ecotoxicity, Radioactivity
National Category
Environmental Sciences Zoology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-497096DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137753ISI: 000921609700001PubMedID: 36608893OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-497096DiVA, id: diva2:1739009
Available from: 2023-02-23 Created: 2023-02-23 Last updated: 2023-02-23Bibliographically approved

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Burraco, Pablo

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