Morphological reproductive characteristics of testes and fertilization capacity of cryopreserved sperm after the Fukushima accident in raccoon ()

Komatsu, Kazuki*; Iwasaki, Tsugumi*; Murata, Kosuke*; Yamashiro, Hideaki*; Goh, V. S. T.*; Nakayama, Ryo*; Fujishima, Yohei*; Ono, Takumi*; Kino, Yasushi*; Shimizu, Yoshinaka*; Takahashi, Atsushi*; Shinoda, Hisashi*; Ariyoshi, Kentaro*; Kasai, Kosuke*; Suzuki, Masatoshi*; Grazia Palmerini, M.*; Belli, M.*; Macchiarelli, G.*; Oka, Toshitaka   ; Fukumoto, Manabu*; Yoshida, Mitsuaki*; Nakata, Akifumi*; Miura, Tomisato*

We have established an archive system of livestock and wild animals from the surrounding ex-evacuation zone. Wildlife within the alert zone have been exposed to low-dose-rate (LDR) radiation for a long and continuous time. In this study, we analysed the morphological characteristics of the testes and in vitro fertilization (IVF) capacity of cryopreserved sperm of raccoons from the ex-evacuation zone of the FDNPP accident. This study revealed that the chronic and LDR radiation exposure associated with the FDNPP accident had no adverse effect on the reproductive characteristics and functions of male raccoons.