Genetic effects of contaminant exposure — towards an assessment of impacts on animal populations

Hebert, Paul D. N.; Luiker, Mary Murdoch

doi:10.1016/0048-9697(96)05169-8

Cited by 50 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 228 publications

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“…Modifications on the PGM locus have already been reported in populations experiencing chemical stress by heavy metals, HAP, PCB, pesticides etc. (Foré et al 1995, Hebert & Luiker 1996, Heithaus & Laushman 1997, Sullivan & Lydy 1999, Moraga & Tanguy 2000. Other authors described a 7 to 11% increase in a pollutant-tolerating allele of PGM in 2 heavily contaminated populations of a freshwater fish compared to a pristine population (Larno et al 2001), and confirmed this trend over the whole Rhône River basin.…”

Section: Genetic Responses To Chemical Stresssupporting

confidence: 68%

Responses of European flounder Platichthys flesus populations to contamination in different estuaries along the Atlantic coast of France

Marchand¹,

Tanguy²,

Laroche³

et al. 2003

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Genetic and physiological responses of flounder Platichthys flesus populations to chemical stress were investigated in 3 highly contaminated French estuaries (the Vilaine, Loire and Gironde) and compared to those observed in the Ster estuary, considered as a reference site because of its reletively low level of contamination. In the Vilaine, Loire and Gironde populations, multi-loci heterozygosity (allozymes: PGM, GPI-2, MPI, IDHP, AAT-1, AAT-2) was lower than in the reference site. The mean growth rate was measured by back-calculation from otoliths, and the mean condition factor corresponded to the somatic weight:fish length 3 ratio. The fish from contaminated estuaries displayed lower values for both parameters than those from the Ster. Among the alleles, PGM 85, AAT-1 95, and to a lesser extent MPI 90, MPI 95 and IDHP 90, could be considered as 'resistant' to contamination. In contaminated estuaries, these alleles were carried by individuals that displayed good fitness, measured as high DNA integrity (low coefficient of variation of DNA content in blood cells) by flow cytometry. The frequencies of these alleles were also more elevated compared to fish from the reference site. Moreover, the comparative analysis of the relationships between genotypic and phenotypic responses of flounder populations to pollution in the 4 studied estuaries highlighted some specificity in relation to contamination typology.

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Section: Genetic Responses To Chemical Stresssupporting

confidence: 68%

Responses of European flounder Platichthys flesus populations to contamination in different estuaries along the Atlantic coast of France

Marchand¹,

Tanguy²,

Laroche³

et al. 2003

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…This work suggests that initial emergence of a resistance trait is generally associated with negative fitness costs for the resistant organisms (e.g., decreased growth or reproduction [56,57]). Termination of the exposure at this time can be expected, therefore, to result in disappearance of the trait from the population.…”

Section: Fitness Costs Associated With Accommodation and Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting chemical impacts on vertebrate endocrine systems

Nichols

Breen

Denver

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Animals have evolved diverse protective mechanisms for responding to toxic chemicals of both natural and anthropogenic origin. From a governmental regulatory perspective, these protective responses complicate efforts to establish acceptable levels of chemical exposure. To explore this issue, we considered vertebrate endocrine systems as potential targets for environmental contaminants. Using the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT), hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad (HPG), and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axes as case examples, we identified features of these systems that allow them to accommodate and recover from chemical insults. In doing so, a distinction was made between effects on adults and those on developing organisms. This distinction was required because endocrine system disruption in early life stages may alter development of organs and organ systems, resulting in permanent changes in phenotypic expression later in life. Risk assessments of chemicals that impact highly regulated systems must consider the dynamics of these systems in relation to complex environmental exposures. A largely unanswered question is whether successful accommodation to a toxic insult exerts a fitness cost on individual animals, resulting in adverse consequences for populations. Mechanistically based mathematical models of endocrine systems provide a means for better understanding accommodation and recovery. In the short term, these models can be used to design experiments and interpret study findings. Over the long term, a set of validated models could be used to extrapolate limited in vitro and in vivo testing data to a broader range of untested chemicals, species, and exposure scenarios. With appropriate modification, Tier 2 assays developed in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program could be used to assess the potential for accommodation and recovery and inform the development of mechanistically based models.

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“…However, estimating the genetic and demographic effects associated with heavy metal contamination in natural populations is a complex and difficult issue (e.g. Hebert & Luiker, 1996;Bickham et al, 2000;Belfiore & Anderson, 2001). variation, whereas nearly neutral mutations may increase the overall genetic variation in a population (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation in two land snails, Cepaea nemoralis and Succinea putris (Gastropoda, Pulmonata), from sites differing in heavy metal content

et al. 2006

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Allozyme variation was determined in two land snail species (Cepaea nemoralis and Succinea putris) from four localities in northern Belgium. In each locality we selected a polluted and a nearby, less-polluted, reference plot. We examined whether (i) genetic variability differed between the polluted and reference plots, (ii) populations from polluted plots experienced recent bottlenecks, and (iii) certain allele or genotype frequencies were associated with the pollution. Our results suggest that (i) about 13% of the genetic differentiation in C. nemoralis and 5% in S. putris was due to differences among polluted and reference plots, (ii) polluted and reference plots had comparable levels of genetic variation, but in C. nemoralis observed heterozygosities were higher in polluted plots, (iii) most plots showed significant evidence for recent bottlenecks, irrespective of the degree of pollution, so that bottlenecks seem poor indicators of pollution-induced stress in land snails, and (iv) mutagenic or pollution-induced modifications did not seem to account for new allozyme variants in polluted sites. The observed patterns of genetic variation may be explained by the action of genetic drift, pollution-mediated selection, restricted gene flow, or a combination of these processes.

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Genetic effects of contaminant exposure — towards an assessment of impacts on animal populations

Cited by 50 publications

References 228 publications

Responses of European flounder Platichthys flesus populations to contamination in different estuaries along the Atlantic coast of France

Responses of European flounder Platichthys flesus populations to contamination in different estuaries along the Atlantic coast of France

Predicting chemical impacts on vertebrate endocrine systems

Genetic variation in two land snails, Cepaea nemoralis and Succinea putris (Gastropoda, Pulmonata), from sites differing in heavy metal content

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