Association of Hepatic Gene Expression with Chemical Concentrations in Wild-Collected Double-Crested Cormorant Embryos using an EcoToxChip Gene Array.

Contaminant monitoring programs use wild bird eggs, but determining whether measured concentrations elicit adverse effects relies on extrapolation from toxicity studies with avian model species. Here, we directly evaluated the relationships between whole embryo contaminant concentrations and mRNA expression in liver tissue of the double-crested cormorant (). Eggs collected from three North American sites (one from Lake Erie and two from the Salish Sea) were artificially incubated until pipping.

Comparative subchronic toxicity of copper and a tertiary copper mixture to early life stage rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): impacts on growth, development, and histopathology.

This research aimed to characterize and compare the subchronic impacts of Cu to a Cu, Cd, and Zn mixture in early life stages of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by examining uptake, survival, growth, development, and histopathology parameters. To accomplish this, rainbow trout were exposed for 31 days from eyed embryos to the swim-up fry life stage to waterborne Cu (31, 47, 70, and 104 μg/L) individually or as mixture containing Cd (4.1, 6.

Contaminant biomonitoring augmented with a qPCR array indicates hepatic mRNA gene expression effects in wild-collected seabird embryos.

Birds can bioaccumulate persistent contaminants, and maternal transfer to eggs may expose embryos to concentrations sufficient to cause adverse effects during sensitive early-life stages. However, using tissue residue concentrations alone to infer whether contaminant effects are occurring suffers from uncertainty, and efficient, sensitive biomarkers remain limited in wildlife. We studied relationships between whole embryo contaminant concentrations (total mercury, organochlorine pesticides, perfluoroalkyl substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, and halogenated flame retardants) together with mRNA expression in embryonic liver tissue from a Pacific Ocean seabird, the rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata).

Using Hepatic Gene Expression Assays in English Sole () to Investigate the Effects of Metro Vancouver Wastewater Effluents.

The present study has investigated the effects of Metro Vancouver's wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents on English sole () hepatic gene expression using novel targeted gene expression assays to complement the 2017 Burrard Inlet Ambient Monitoring Program conducted by Metro Vancouver. Seven locations of varying distance to the WWTPs were included. Twelve genes involved in xenobiotic defense (, ), thyroid function (), lipid and glucose metabolism (, , , δ, γ), protein synthesis (, ), and reproduction (α, ) revealed several differences between these impacted sites.