Abstract
We examine the effects of low dose X-irradiation on development in the fly. Following exposure of prepupal (day 5) flies to 0.5 Gy X-rays, the time to emergence was slightly shorter than in the sham controls. This tendency was increased when the X-ray exposure came during the pupal stage (day 7). In these flies, the time to eclosion decreased significantly, by an average of thirty hours sooner than sham controls. A further experiment examined whether such radiation effects could be observed in the unexposed F1 generation of exposed individuals. Greater radiation effects on early F1 emergence were seen when the time between exposure and mating was 3 days, indicating an effect on early spermatid development. Early F1 emergence was also observed after exposure of female flies to X-rays during late previtellogeny. Furthermore, rapid emergence could be induced in the F1 embryos of unexposed parents by transferring the polar cytoplasm from F1 embryos of exposed flies. [J Radiat Res 44:402 (2003)]
