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Impact of ionizing radiation on the environmental microbiomes of Chernobyl wetlands

View ORCID ProfileElin Videvall, View ORCID ProfilePablo Burraco, View ORCID ProfileGermán Orizaola
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.17.476627
Elin Videvall
1Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
2Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
3Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, 20013 Washington, DC, USA
4Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden
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Pablo Burraco
4Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden
5Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
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Germán Orizaola
6a, 33600 Mieres-Asturias, Spain
7Zoology Unit, Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems, University of Oviedo, c/ Catedrático Rodrigo Uría s/n, 33071 Oviedo-Asturias, Spain
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  • For correspondence: orizaolagerman@uniovi.es
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Abstract

Radioactive contamination in the form of ionizing radiation can be a devastating pollutant because it has the potential to cause damage to DNA and other biomolecules. Anthropogenic sources of ionizing radiation include accidents in nuclear power plants, such as the one in Chernobyl 1986, which caused long-term radioactive pollution. Studies on animals within radioactive zones have provided us with a greater understanding of how wildlife can persevere despite chronic radiation exposure, however, we still know very little about the effects of radiation on the microbial communities in the environment. Here, we examined the impact of ionizing radiation and other environmental factors on the diversity and composition of environmental microbiomes in the wetlands of Chernobyl. We combined extensive field sampling along a gradient of radiation together with 16S rRNA high-throughput metabarcoding (Illumina NovaSeq). While radiation did not affect the alpha diversity of the microbiomes in sediment, soil, or water, it had a strong effect on the beta diversity, indicating that the microbial composition was affected by ionizing radiation. Specifically, we detected several microbial taxa that were more abundant in areas with high radiation levels within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, including bacteria and archaea known to be radioresistant. Overall, our results reveal the existence of rich and diverse microbiomes in Chernobyl wetlands, with multiple taxonomic groups that are able to thrive despite the radioactive contamination. Further field and laboratory-based approaches will help to forecast the functionality and re-naturalization dynamics of radiocontaminated environments.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted January 20, 2022.
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Impact of ionizing radiation on the environmental microbiomes of Chernobyl wetlands
Elin Videvall, Pablo Burraco, Germán Orizaola
bioRxiv 2022.01.17.476627; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.17.476627
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Impact of ionizing radiation on the environmental microbiomes of Chernobyl wetlands
Elin Videvall, Pablo Burraco, Germán Orizaola
bioRxiv 2022.01.17.476627; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.17.476627

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