Dogs living near the nuclear disaster site in Chernobyl in Ukraine are evolving and have mutated to develop a new superpower: An apparent immunity to radiation, heavy metals and pollution.
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Researchers from Ukraine, Poland and the United States analyzed DNA samples from more than 302 dogs living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) — 116 strays in the CEZ and 186 from elsewhere — and found two different populations were genetically distinct from other dogs in the surrounding area.
“The combination of observed behaviors in the Chernobyl dogs and their complex family structures suggests that the Chernobyl dog populations violate the assumption of random mating that is inherent to many population genetic models,” the study, published in Science Advances in March 2023, noted.
“Genetic differentiation from other purebred and free-breeding dogs suggests that the Chernobyl populations have a unique genomic signature.”
The findings suggest they have adapted to withstand long-term exposure to the environment, which is still radioactive, and would explain why they have continued to thrive in the toxic wasteland.
The scientists determined that the Chernobyl dogs form packs and live near each other — unlike their wolf ancestors — and have learned to modify their movements based on human activity.
They have also established their own living areas, separate from where they forage.
According to the study, the affected dogs may be descendants of pets left behind following the mass evacuation of Chernobyl residents in the ‘80s.
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The Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986, remains one of the most catastrophic nuclear disasters in history.
The explosion and fire unleashed radioactive particles into the atmosphere that were about 400 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
The tragedy forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people and created a 30-kilometre exclusion zone around the plant, which remains abandoned.
Norman J. Kleiman, an environmental health scientist at Columbia University who led the team, hopes their research and future studies of the CEZ’s strays will help scientists understand the genetic effects of prolonged exposures to both radiation and non-radiation toxic exposures.
He said in a statement to Columbia magazine: “Examining the genetic and health impacts of these chronic exposures in the dogs will strengthen our broader understanding of how these types of environmental hazards can impact humans and how best to mitigate health risks.”