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Yablokov: Radioactive Impact on Microbial Biota 283had anomalous oocysts (Soshkin andPel’gunov, 1994).22. There was a significant decline in theShannon diversity index of infusoriaspecies and a concomitant increase intheir abundance in the Pripyat Rivermouth from 1986 to 1988 (Nebrat,1992).All microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi,and protozoa) and microbiological communitiesas a whole undergo rapid changes after anyadditional irradiation. The mechanism of suchchangesiswellknown:inclusionandincreaseinthe frequency of mutations by natural selectionand preservation of beneficial novel genes thatfor whatever reason appear more viable underthe new conditions. This microevolutionarymechanism has been activated in all radioactivelycontaminated areas and leads to activationof old and the occurrence of new formsof viruses and bacteria. All but a few microorganismsthat have been studied in Chernobylaffectedterritories underwent rapid changes inheavily contaminated areas.Our contemporary knowledge is too limitedto understand even the main consequencesof the inevitable radioactive-induced geneticchanges among the myriad of viruses, bacteria,protozoa, and fungi that inhabit the intestines,lungs, blood, organs, and cells of human beings.The strong association between carcinogenesisand viruses (papilloma virus, hepatitis virus,Helicobacter pylori, Epstein–Barr virus, Kaposi’ssarcoma, and herpes virus) provides anotherreason why the cancer rate increased in areascontaminated by Chernobyl irradiation (for areview, see Sreelekha et al., 2003).Not only cancer, but also many other illnessesare connected with viruses and bacteria. Radiologicallyinduced pathologic changes in the microflorain humans can increase susceptibilityto infections, inflammatory diseases of bacterialand viral origin (influenza, chronic intestinaldiseases, pyelonephritis, cystitis, vaginitis,endocolitis, asthma, dermatitis, and ischemia),and various pathologies of pregnancy.The long-term consequences for microbialbiota may be worse than what we understandtoday.ReferencesAdamovich, V. L. (1998). Hydrophobia in animals on radioactivelycontaminated territories. Ecolog 3: 237–240 (in Russian).Belookaya, T. V. (1993). Dynamics of Belarussian children’shealth status under modern ecological conditions.Scientific and Practical Conference. ChernobylCatastrophe: Diagnostics and Medical and Psychological Rehabilitationof Sufferers (Materials, Minsk): pp. 3–10 (inRussian).Borschevsky, V. V., Kalechits, O. M. & Bogomazova, A.V. (1996). Course of tuberculosis morbidity after theChernobyl catastrophe in Belarus. Med. Biol. AspectsChernobyl Accident (Slavutich) 1: pp. 33–37 (in Russian).Boyko, A., Kathyria, P., Zemp, F. J., Yao, Y., Pogribny, I.& Kovalchuk, I. (2007). Transgenerational changesin genome stability and methylation in pathogeninfectedplants (virus-induced plant genome instability).Nucl. Acids Res. 35(5): 1714–1725.Chernetsky, V. D. & Osynovsky, D. F. (1993). Epidemiologicalabnormalities of tuberculosis in a region witha low level of radioactive contamination. Scientificand Practical Conference. Chernobyl Catastrophe: Diagnostics,Medical and Psychological Rehabilitation of Sufferers(Materials, Minsk): pp. 100–104 (in Russian).Ivanova, A. E., Aslanydi, K. B., Karpenko, Yu. V., Belozerskaya,T. A. & Zhdanova, N. N. (2006). Phenotypicalcharacteristics of microfungi from the exclusionzone of the Chernobyl NPP. Adv. Med. Mycol. 7:10–11 (//www.mycology.ru/nam/pdf/vol7.pdf) (inRussian).Kavsan, V. M., Frolov, A. F. & Antonenko, S. V.(1992). Activation of human retroviruses afterthe Chernobyl accident. International Conference.AIDs, Cancer and Human Retroviruses. November 18–22, 1992, St. Petersburg (//www.biomed.spb.ru/conf_program/1992rus.pdf.) (in Russian).Kovalchuk, I., Kovalchuk, O., Kalck, V., Boyko, V.,Filkowski, J., et al. (2003). Pathogen-induced systemicplant signal triggers DNA rearrangements. Nature423: 760–762.Lavdovskaya, M. V., Lysenko, A. Ya., Basova, E. N., Lozovaya,G. A., Baleva, L. S. & Rybalkina, T. N. (1996).The “host-opportunistic protozoa” system: Effect ofionizing radiation on incidence of cryptosporidiosisand pneumocystosis. Parasitology 30(2): 153–157 (inRussian).