Beneficial protective effects may result from an adaptive respose to low dose radiation exposure. However, such benefits must be accompanied by some form of cost because the responsible biological mechanisms are not normally maintained in an upregulated state. It has been suggested that stimulation of adaptive response mechanisms could be metabolically costly, or that the adaptive response could come at a sacrifice to other physiological processes. We exposed developing lake whitefish embryos to a fractionated regime of gamma radiation (662 keV; 0.3 Gy min–1) to determine whether radiation-stimulated growth was accompanied by a trade-off in metabolic efficiency. Developing embryos were exposed at the eyed stage to different radiation doses delivered in four fractions, ranging from 15 mGy to 8 Gy per fraction, with a 14 day separation between dose fractions. Dry weight and standard length measurements were taken 2–5 weeks after delivery of the final radiation exposure and yolk conversion efficiency was estimated by comparing the unpreserved dry weight of the yolk to the unpreserved yolk-free dry weight of the embryos and normalizing for size-related differences in somatic maintenance. Our results show that the irradiated embryos were 8–10% heavier than the controls but yolk conversion efficiency was slightly improved. This finding demonstrates that stimulated growth in developing lake whitefish embryos is not “paid for” by a trade-off in the efficiency of yolk conversion.
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1 October 2017
Research Article|
September 06 2017
Is There a Trade-Off between Radiation-Stimulated Growth and Metabolic Efficiency?
Charles Mitz;
Charles Mitz
a Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4L8
1Scholar-in-Training, Radiation Research Society.
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Christopher Thome;
Christopher Thome
a Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4L8
1Scholar-in-Training, Radiation Research Society.
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Mary Ellen Cybulski;
Mary Ellen Cybulski
a Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4L8
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Christopher M. Somers;
Christopher M. Somers
bDepartment of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 0A2
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Richard G. Manzon;
Richard G. Manzon
bDepartment of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 0A2
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Joanna Y. Wilson;
Joanna Y. Wilson
cDepartment of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4K1
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Douglas R. Boreham
Douglas R. Boreham
a Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4L8
dNorthern Ontario School of Medicine, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, P3E 2C6
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Radiat Res (2017) 188 (4.2): 486–494.
Article history
Received:
October 26 2016
Accepted:
August 14 2017
Citation
Charles Mitz, Christopher Thome, Mary Ellen Cybulski, Christopher M. Somers, Richard G. Manzon, Joanna Y. Wilson, Douglas R. Boreham; Is There a Trade-Off between Radiation-Stimulated Growth and Metabolic Efficiency?. Radiat Res 1 October 2017; 188 (4.2): 486–494. doi: https://doi.org/10.1667/RR14665.1
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