This paper summarises data from studies of transgenerational effects of preconceptual exposure to ionising radiation (IR) of animals across various taxa. We have conducted search in PubMed, a database on medical and biomedical topics, using “transgeneration AND irradiation” as search terms, and, have additionally reviewed papers cited in the original documents. For the analysis we have selected 103 original papers, including 39 published in the last decade. The following living objects were used for studying transgenerational effects of ionizing radiation: Protostomes, including Nematoda, Annelida, Crustaceans and insects (21 papers), Deuterostomes, including fish, Amphibia, birds and mammals (82 papers). With regard to transgenerational effects in humans, we have reviewed 31 paper discussing effects of preconceptual exposure of parents to IR. Reported results come from the analysis of effects of ionizing radiation such as X-ray, gamma, neutrons (corpuscular), of incorporated radionuclides (Pu, U, U, U, Fe), alongside data from radiation incidents and atomic bombings. Reported transgenerational effects of preconceptual exposure of parents to a wide range of doses of IR include teratogenic effects, prenatal death, different birth defects, reduced conception rates, both in vivo and in vitro, genomic instability, and mutations (excess deletions). Besides, an increased hazard of carcinogenic events resulting from mutational variance and instability of germline genome is reported, though it is shown to be relatively low in descendants of irradiated parents. Transgenerational effects of IR may play a significant role on reproductive health of animals and humans, particularly in radiation-contaminated regions. We suggest that future research incorporate an integrated approach to assess condition of genome across multiple genetic parameters, including detection of transgenerational genomic instability in descendants of irradiated parents.
Panchenko et al. (Wed,) studied this question.