Effects of x-irradiation on the development of the respiratory system and survival time in pupae of Sarcophaga peregrina.

The pupae of Sarcophaga peregrina received x-ray in the early pupal stage, and their oxygen consumption was measured throughout the pupal stage. Three patterns of radiation effects were found according to doses. With small irradiation doses, inhibitory effect on oxygen uptake was evident, but the survival time of the pupae was the same as that in non-irradiated, non-fed pupae. With medium irradiation doses, oxygen uptake of the pupae was maintained at an extremely low level throughout the pupal stage, but they survived far longer than the non-irradiated control pupae. With large irradiation doses, oxygen uptake was exponentially reduced after the irradiation, leading the pupae to death in the early pupal stage. It was an outstanding feature of the present experiments that the pupae with irradiation in medium doses survived longer than the control pupae.