Biological effects of anhydrobiosis in an African chironomid, on radiation tolerance

Watanabe, Masahiko*; Sakashita, Tetsuya; Fujita, Akihiko*; Kikawada, Takahiro*; Horikawa, Daiki*; Nakahara, Yuichi*; Wada, Seiichi*; Funayama, Tomoo; Hamada, Nobuyuki*; Kobayashi, Yasuhiko; Okuda, Takashi*

The present study aims to evaluate effects of anhydrobiosis on radiation tolerance in an anhydrobiotic insect, Polypedilum vanderplanki. Larval survival (48 h), anhydrobiotic ability, metamorphosis and reproduction after exposure to 1 to 9000 Gy of -rays at the larval stage were comparedbetween anhydrobiotic (dry) and normal (wet) phases. Wet larvae were killed in a dose-dependent manner at doses higher than 2000 Gy, and all died within 8 h after 4000 Gy exposure. In contrast, dry larvae survived even 5000 Gy, and some of them still tolerated 7000 Gy and were alive at 48 h after rehydration. Moreover, greater radiotolerance of dry larva, compared to wet ones, was demonstrated interms of metamorphoses. However, anhydrobiosis did not protect against radiation damage in terms of producing viable offspring. These results indicate that anhydrobiosis enhances radiotolerance, resulting in increases of successful metamorphoses.