Sensitivity of Artemia eggs to the gamma-irradiation. V. Biological after-effect of irradiation in relation to water content and temperature.

Abstract

Artemia dry eggs irradiated with γ-rays showed the biological after-effect; the hatchability of the eggs decreased with increased storage time. Such effect can be modified by various treatments applied after the irradiation. In this paper, the effects of water content and temperature upon storage after irradiation on Artemia dry eggs were examined. Artemia dry eggs were γ-irradiated and then stored for one, three and seven days in various conditions. The hatchability was examined for each treatment to assess the biological damage. Radiation damage after irradiation was considerably increased by the water content in highly dried eggs (water content, 7.4%). On the other hand, in the moistened eggs (9.6%, 18.5% and 35.1%) the damage was not so pronounced as compared to the highly dried eggs, and no appreciable difference in the after-effect was found among them. The after-effect was temperature dependent; the dry eggs kept in dry ice did not reveal the decrease of hatchability. The possible mechanism of the biological after-effect on Artemia eggs was discussed.