title: Effects of reduced natural background radiation on Drosophila melanogaster growth and development as revealed by the FLYINGLOW program.
abstract: Natural background radiation of Earth and cosmic rays played a relevant role during the evolution of living organisms. However, how chronic low doses of radiation can affect biological processes is still unclear. Previous data have indicated that cells grown at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory (LNGS, L'Aquila) of National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) of Italy, where the dose rate of cosmic rays and neutrons is significantly reduced with respect to the external environment, elicited an impaired response against endogenous damage as compared to cells grown outside LNGS. This suggests that environmental radiation contributes to the development of defense mechanisms at cellular level. To further understand how environmental radiation affects metabolism of living organisms, we have recently launched the FLYINGLOW program that aims at exploiting Drosophila melanogaster as a model for evaluating the effects of low doses/dose rates of radiation at the organismal level. Here, we will present a comparative data set on lifespan, motility and fertility from different Drosophila strains grown in parallel at LNGS and in a reference laboratory at the University of L'Aquila. Our data suggest the reduced radiation environment can influence Drosophila development and, depending on the genetic background, may affect viability for several generations even when flies are moved back to normal background radiation. As flies are considered a valuable model for human biology, our results might shed some light on understanding the effect of low dose radiation also in humans.
authors.affiliation: SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.|Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morciano
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Applicate e Biotecnologiche, Università dell'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iorio
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Applicate e Biotecnologiche, Università dell'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Iovino
authors.affiliation: SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.|Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cipressa
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione Roma 1, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porrazzo
authors.affiliation: Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Satta
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Applicate e Biotecnologiche, Università dell'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alesse
authors.affiliation: Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", Rome, Italy.|Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione Roma 1, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Antonella
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tabocchini
authors.affiliation: SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.|Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9628-1411
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cenci
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001417:Background Radiation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000528:radiation effects; D003359:Cosmic Radiation / Q000009:adverse effects; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000528:radiation effects*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000528:radiation effects; D005838:Genotype; D008124:Locomotion / Q000528:radiation effects; D008136:Longevity / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D009502:Neutrons / Q000009:adverse effects; D010641:Phenotype; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C514947:Tefu protein, Drosophila
keywords: ATM; Drosophila; LNGS laboratory; background radiation