Radiation-induced transgenerational effects in animals

Abstract

According to the results of recent studies, parental exposure to ionizing radiation not only leads to mutation induction in the germline of irradiated animals but also affects their non-exposed offspring. These radiation-induced transgenerational effects belong to an epigenetic phenomenon that could not be defined as a transmission of altered phenotypes from the irradiated parents to their non-exposed offspring. In this review, we present the results of laboratory studies aimed to evaluate the transgenerational effects of parental irradiation on a number of traits in the offspring of exposed parents. The results of animal studies showing compromised viability, fertility and genome stability among the non-exposed offspring of irradiated parents are presented and discussed. So far, the epigenetic phenomenon of radiation-induced transgenerational effects has been established in laboratory studies. Future work should address the important issue of manifestation of radiation-induced transgenerational effects in populations inhabiting radioactive-contaminated areas, as well as the mechanisms of transgenerational effects.

Keywords:

• Ionizing radiation
• instability
• transgenerational effects
• epigenetics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

YED work, in part, was supported by the Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF) through funds received by The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust under the Aged Veterans Fund Grant [AVF16]. SEI work, in part, was supported by the MEPhI Academic Excellence Project (No. 02.a03.21.0005).

Notes on contributors

Yuri E. Dubrova

Yuri E. Dubrova, DrSci, PhD, is a Professor of Genetics at the Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Elena I. Sarapultseva

Elena I. Sarapultseva, DrSci, is a Professor of Radiobiology at the Department of Biotechnology, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Russian Federation and Senior Researcher of A. Tsyb Medical Radiological Research Center – Branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.