Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation from diagnostic imaging procedures has raised concerns regarding its potential biological effects, even at low doses. This study investigated the impact of diagnostic radiation exposure on mRNA expression of p53 and DIAP1 in Drosophila melanogaster. Healthy laboratory-reared flies (Harwich strain) were divided into five groups (n=100 per group): a control group (Group A), two X-ray–exposed groups (Group B, 0.1 Gy daily for 7 days; Group C, 0.1 Gy daily for 14 days), and two CT-exposed groups (Group D, 0.1 Gy daily for 7 days; Group E, 0.1 Gy daily for 14 days). Radiation exposure was performed under standardized laboratory conditions at the Biomedical Toxicology Chemicals Safety (BIOTOXCS) Research Laboratory, University of Benin. After exposure, flies were preserved in Trizol reagent for RNA extraction, followed by cDNA synthesis and semi-quantitative PCR analysis. Results showed a significant upregulation of p53 and DIAP1 mRNA expression in radiation-exposed groups compared to the control (p<0.05). Expression levels were dose- and duration-dependent, with Groups C and E (14-day exposures) exhibiting the highest increases. Gel electrophoresis and bar chart analyses further confirmed these findings, demonstrating progressive changes consistent with prolonged radiation stress. These results indicate that even low-dose diagnostic radiation can induce molecular alterations in stress- and apoptosis-related genes in Drosophila melanogaster. The study underscores the utility of Drosophila as a model organism for assessing radiation-induced genetic responses and highlights the need for further research into the implications of cumulative diagnostic radiation exposure.