Chernobyl’s dog population shows signs of adaptation, genetic study finds

The findings revealed a striking genetic divergence, with Chernobyl city dogs exhibiting closer genetic ties to dogs from the Galapagos Islands than to those residing near the plant. The study, published in the journal *Genes*, indicates that random genetic drift alone cannot account for these differences, suggesting natural selection is at play.

“When I was first doing those analyzes, I had to kind of pause and was like, ‘Wow, I have to make sure I’m doing all of this right,’ because this is very interesting, very surprising,” said Megan Dillon, a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University and the study’s lead author.

The genomic regions experiencing the strongest selective pressure are linked to vital functions like DNA repair, immune response, and cell survival, potentially aiding in coping with environmental stressors. Researchers believe these genetic variations likely existed within the local dog population prior to the 1986 disaster, becoming more prevalent over the subsequent four decades.

While radiation exposure is an obvious consideration, other factors, including harsh winters and contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides, have also influenced the dogs’ evolution. The study acknowledges the difficulty in isolating the specific environmental pressures driving these changes.

Chernobyl’s dogs are descendants of pets abandoned during the evacuation following the nuclear accident. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has also become a haven for wildlife, including wolves, deer, wild boars, and lynx, due to reduced human activity. Similar genomic distinctions have been observed in other animal populations within the zone.

“It really demonstrates the resilience of nature to catastrophic events caused by humans,” said Matthew Breen, a professor of genomics at North Carolina State University and the study’s senior author. “You push something in one direction, it can respond to that and either push back or deviate its path going forward.”

The research team lacks longitudinal data, making it challenging to track the population’s genetic changes over time. Obtaining samples from dogs living in 1986, when genomic sequencing technology was unavailable, is impossible.