The tiny contribution of cadmium (Cd) to the composition of the earth's crust contrasts with its high biological significance. We suggest that in gastropod clades, the protein family of metallothioneins (MTs) has evolved to specifically detoxify Cd.

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In this study different state-of-the-art visualization methods were evaluated to study human skeletal remains for the determination of the post-mortem interval (PMI).

Arion vulgaris is a European slug with a huge potential for accumulating and detoxifying heavy metals.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to nitrite (0.007 mmol NO2- · L-1) for 48 days. During the first 14 days, the methaemoglobin concentration in the blood as well as the NO2- and NO3- concentrations in the plasma increased whereas further days of exposure led to a decrease in the nitrite, nitrate, and methaemoglobin concentrations in the blood. Isolated erythrocytes from rainbow trout have the ability to detoxify nitrite by oxidation to nitrate, thus removing this compound from the blood. This process is dependent on oxygen loading of haemoglobin and on the nitrite concentration in the medium. In anoxic erythrocytes the oxidation of nitrite to nitrate is drastically reduced. Assuming Michaelis-Menten kinetics, the uptake for nitrite in our investigation was estimated between 1.06 and 2.21 µmol NO2- · h-1 · kg fish-1. After 14 days of exposure approximately 20% of the total NO2- taken up will be detoxified by erythrocytes in fish. We hypothesize that rainbow trout have the capacity for adapting to nitrite exposure by increasing the rate of oxidation to nitrate.

1. The watercourses of Austria are mainly part of the Danube drainage system. Nonetheless, only few brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations of the Danubian phylogenetic lineage have been found in this region, not being introgressed by hatchery-reared fish of the allochthonous Atlantic lineage. The present study was aimed at identifying further waterbodies that might harbour the non-admixed gene pool of the Danubian clade trout. 2. In a first step, the complete mitochondrial DNA control region of 447 specimens from 20 sampling sites was sequenced to screen for the presence of specific haplotypes. In a second step, 332 individuals from 15 populations were analysed at 10 microsatellite DNA loci. 3. Although sampling concentrated on remote Alpine headwater streams, introgression of hatchery strains was more common than expected from existing stocking records. For seven populations, however, no evidence of recent hatchery trout introgression was found and it is suggested that they might represent the indigenous gene pool. 4. Populations showing no evidence of hatchery introgression displayed lower levels of intrapopulation variability and higher degrees of differentiation compared to purported admixed populations. 5. Our study demonstrates the necessity of combining different molecular markers to reveal the impact of introgression into wild populations, since at some sampling sites admixture would have remained undetected if only a single molecular technique was applied. 6. The identification and characterisation of non-introgressed populations provides important information for setting conservation priorities and preventing further loss of genetic integrity of a unique element of the native fish fauna.

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