Epigenetics for ecotoxicologists

Incorporating evolutionary insights to improve ecotoxicology for freshwater species

“…Compared to woodland populations, roadside populations survive at lower rates in their natal ponds and accrue more developmental malformations when chronically exposed to road salt. These maladaptive responses (including decreased tolerance to chloride) could result from negative transgenerational effects, for example, if parental exposure to the roadside environment compromises offspring viability via contaminant transfer and/or epigenetic effects (Head, Dolinoy, & Basu, 2012; Metts, Buhlmann, Scott, Tuberville, & Hopkins, 2012). Alternatively, maladaptive responses could occur if roadside selection pressures are strong enough to reduce population size and result in inbreeding depression (Falk, Parent, Agashe, & Bolnick, 2012).…”

Ecological relevance of biomarkers in monitoring studies of macro-invertebrates and fish in Mediterranean rivers

“…Besides changes in the DNA code itself, other factors (inheritable and not) can determine the relationship between genes and the environment (Head et al, 2012). This is the domain of epigenetics that studies the effects of chemical marks on top of the DNA code (e.g.…”

“…This is the domain of epigenetics that studies the effects of chemical marks on top of the DNA code (e.g. DNA methylation, histone modification) on gene expression (Head et al, 2012). DNA methylation is probably one of the best understood mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance and may explain how multiple stressors, including chemicals, can have lasting and even multigenerational effects on health in wildlife (Head, 2014).…”

Applications of biological tools or biomarkers in aquatic biota: A case study of the Tamar estuary, South West England

“…Several current trends in ecotoxicology do, however, provide suggestions by which future studies could bridge this gap. In particular, transgenerational effects (Baverstock and Belyakov, 2010;Dubrova et al, 2002;Parker et al, 1999) and epigenetic effects (Head et al, 2012;Vandegehuchte andJanssen, 2011, 2014;Vandegehuchte, 2012) have the potential to cause alterations in population structure. For example, nickel, which was consistently higher in Tamar bivalves' soft tissues than those of reference sites (Dallas et al, 2013b), has been shown to have an inhibitory effect on cytosine 5-methyltransferase activity in Chinese hamster cells (Lee et al, 1998).…”