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. 2021 May 14;372(6543):725-729.
doi: 10.1126/science.abg2365. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Lack of transgenerational effects of ionizing radiation exposure from the Chernobyl accident

Meredith Yeager #  1   2 , Mitchell J Machiela #  3 , Prachi Kothiyal  3   4 , Michael Dean  3   2 , Clara Bodelon  3 , Shalabh Suman  3   2 , Mingyi Wang  3   2 , Lisa Mirabello  3 , Chase W Nelson  5   6 , Weiyin Zhou  3   2 , Cameron Palmer  3   2 , Bari Ballew  3   2 , Leandro M Colli  3   7 , Neal D Freedman  3 , Casey Dagnall  3   2 , Amy Hutchinson  3   2 , Vibha Vij  3 , Yosi Maruvka  8   9 , Maureen Hatch  3 , Iryna Illienko  10 , Yuri Belayev  10 , Nori Nakamura  11 , Vadim Chumak  10 , Elena Bakhanova  10 , David Belyi  10 , Victor Kryuchkov  12 , Ivan Golovanov  12 , Natalia Gudzenko  10 , Elizabeth K Cahoon  3 , Paul Albert  3 , Vladimir Drozdovitch  3 , Mark P Little  3 , Kiyohiko Mabuchi  3 , Chip Stewart  8 , Gad Getz  8   9   13   14 , Dimitry Bazyka  10 , Amy Berrington de Gonzalez  3 , Stephen J Chanock  1
Affiliations

Lack of transgenerational effects of ionizing radiation exposure from the Chernobyl accident

Meredith Yeager et al. Science. .

Abstract

Effects of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear accident remain a topic of interest. We investigated germline de novo mutations (DNMs) in children born to parents employed as cleanup workers or exposed to occupational and environmental ionizing radiation after the accident. Whole-genome sequencing of 130 children (born 1987-2002) and their parents did not reveal an increase in the rates, distributions, or types of DNMs relative to the results of previous studies. We find no elevation in total DNMs, regardless of cumulative preconception gonadal paternal [mean = 365 milligrays (mGy), range = 0 to 4080 mGy] or maternal (mean = 19 mGy, range = 0 to 550 mGy) exposure to ionizing radiation. Thus, we conclude that, over this exposure range, evidence is lacking for a substantial effect on germline DNMs in humans, suggesting minimal impact from transgenerational genetic effects.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.. Detected DNMs per genome based on distributions of parental age at conception.
Analyses are presented by increasing paternal and maternal age at conception, paternal and maternal dose, birth year of child, and paternal and maternal smoking at conception. All plots are univariate and do not account for other potentially correlated variables (for example, maternal age does not account for high correlation with paternal age).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.. Distribution of de novo SNVs by type of nucleotide change across six studies.
n = number of children sequenced (adapted from (39)). Liftover was used to convert coordinates to hg38 for all studies and the reference for CpG sites were defined with respect to that reference sequence. Only autosomes were included. Error bars show binomial 95% confidence intervals. Studies included Kong (2); Wong (8); Francioli (4); Michaelson (3); Jónsson (6); and Chernobyl (present study).
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