Effects of 60Co γ Irradiation on the Reproductive Function of Caenorhabditis elegans

The effects of ionizing radiation on the reproductive system have always been a matter of great interest. Both artificial and naturally occurring ionizing radiation can directly or indirectly affect the reproductive system via the introduction of DNA single-strand and double-strand breaks, the excitation of water molecules, and the generation of free radicals. In order to quantitatively investigate the effects of ionizing radiation on reproductive function, 60Co γ irradiation was applied on a model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The egg-laying and embryo-hatching activities were observed for the parent (F0) and the first 2 progeny (F1 and F2) generations. The incidence rate of ovipositor malformation was also recorded. Acridine orange was used to detect the number of apoptotic germ cells. With the above metrics, the effects of 60Co γ irradiation on the reproductive function of C. elegans were systematically evaluated. The results showed that the postirradiation egg-laying and embryo-hatchi...