Endocrine disruption and differential gene expression in sentinel fish on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska: Health implications for indigenous residents

Hippel, Frank von; Miller, Pamela; Carpenter, David O.; Dillon, Danielle; Smayda, Lauren C.; Katsiadaki, Ioanna; Titus, Tom A.; Batzel, Peter; Postlethwait, John H.; Buck, C. Loren

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.11.054

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Similar results were observed for SNPs called from two publicly available RNA-seq data sets: one from pungitius sampled from the same population as this study (White et al. 2015), and another from pungitius sampled from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska (von Hippel et al. 2018) (supplementary fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

The Origin of a New Sex Chromosome by Introgression between Two Stickleback Fishes

Dixon

Kitano

Kirkpatrick

2018

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Introgression is increasingly recognized as a source of genetic diversity that fuels adaptation. Its role in the evolution of sex chromosomes, however, is not well known. Here, we confirm the hypothesis that the Y chromosome in the ninespine stickleback, Pungitius pungitius, was established by introgression from the Amur stickleback, P. sinensis. Using whole genome resequencing, we identified a large region of Chr 12 in P. pungitius that is diverged between males and females. Within but not outside of this region, several lines of evidence show that the Y chromosome of P. pungitius shares a most recent common ancestor not with the X chromosome, but with the homologous chromosome in P. sinensis. Accumulation of repetitive elements and gene expression changes on the new Y are consistent with a young sex chromosome in early stages of degeneration, but other hallmarks of Y chromosomes have not yet appeared. Our findings indicate that porous species boundaries can trigger rapid sex chromosome evolution.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

The Origin of a New Sex Chromosome by Introgression between Two Stickleback Fishes

Dixon

Kitano

Kirkpatrick

2018

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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“…By employing a nontargeted, transcriptomics-based approach, we a) revealed broad and persistent transcriptional divergence in ovaries from alligators originating from an environment conveying developmental contaminant exposure; b) uncovered functional pathways and signatures of epigenetic modifiers within these patterns of divergence; and c) provided empirical support for a mechanism underlying reproductive pathologies in alligators from AP, wherein exposure to EDCs at a bipotential stage of gonadal development might precociously activate estrogen signaling. Few studies to date have employed transcriptomics to investigate organismal responses to contaminants in environmentally relevant systems (i.e., those composed of genetically diverse individuals in natural populations and exposed to environmental contaminants) (but see Defo et al 2018;von Hippel et al 2018), and fewer still have empirically addressed the effects of developmental exposures that persist into later life stages (but see Lea et al 2016). Nonetheless, the proclivity of environmental endocrine disruptors to shape future ovarian function is well supported Stage III follicle densities in WO controls, AP, and E 2 -treated WO animals (WO + E2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Ability of Developmentally Precocious Estrogen Signaling to Recapitulate Ovarian Transcriptomes and Follicle Dynamics in Alligators from a Contaminated Lake

Hale

Parrott

2020

Environ Health Perspect

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Background: Concern has grown in recent decades over anthropogenic contaminants that interfere with the functioning of endocrine hormones. However, mechanisms connecting developmental processes to pathologies associated with endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure are poorly understood in naturally exposed populations. Objectives: We sought to a ) characterize divergence in ovarian transcriptomic and follicular profiles between alligators originating from a historically EDC-contaminated site, Lake Apopka, and a reference site; b ) test the ability of developmentally precocious estrogen exposure to recapitulate site-associated patterns of divergence; and c ) test whether treatment with exogenous follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is capable of rescuing phenotypes associated with contaminant exposure and/or embryonic estrogen treatment. Methods: Alligators eggs were collected from a contaminated site and a reference site, and a subset of eggs from the reference site were treated with estradiol ( ) during embryonic development prior to gonadal differentiation. After hatching, alligators were raised under controlled laboratory settings for 5 months. Juveniles from both sites were divided and treated with exogenous FSH. Histological analyses and RNA-sequencing were conducted to characterize divergence in ovarian follicle dynamics and transcriptomes between sites, between reference and -treated animals, and between FSH-treated and nontreated animals. Results: We observed broad site-of-origin divergence in ovarian transcriptomes and reductions in ovarian follicle density between juvenile alligators from Lake Apopka and the reference site. Treating embryos from the reference site with overwhelmingly recapitulated transcriptional and histological alterations observed in Lake Apopka juveniles. Ovarian phenotypes observed in Lake Apopka alligators or resulting from estrogen treatment were only partially rescued by treatment with exogenous FSH. Discussion: Recapitulation of ovarian abnormalities by precocious revealed a relatively simple mechanism underlying contaminant-induced pathologies in a historical example of environmental endocrine disruption. Findings reported here support a model where the developmental timing of estrogen signaling has the potential to permanently alter ovarian organization and function. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6627

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“…Alaska contains approximately 600 FUD sites (Scrudato et al., 2012; von Hippel et al., 2016), many of which, including many in the Aleutians, are contaminated with PCBs (Hardell et al., 2010). Many FUD sites are located in or near indigenous villages or on important subsistence land (Scrudato et al., 2012; von Hippel et al., 2018; von Hippel et al., 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago

Adams

Hippel

Hungate

et al. 2019

Heliyon

Self Cite

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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of synthetic, lipophilic organochlorines that were banned due to their impacts on human and wildlife health and environmental persistence. Although banned, the continued release from pre-banned products allows them to persist at toxic levels in the environment. This is especially the case in lipid rich food webs of the Arctic, where PCBs accumulate due to both long-range atmospheric transport and locally contaminated sites such as formerly used defense (FUD) sites. At the request of the leadership of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, we analyzed PCB concentrations in samples of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and subsistence foods (i.e., salmonid species and blue mussels [Mytilus edulis]) collected at both FUD and non-FUD sites. PCBs were extracted from samples using a QuEChERS method. The mean PCB concentrations across all mussel samples was 6.1 ppb; mussels from FUD sites had nearly double the PCB concentrations (7.6 ppb) compared to non-military sites (3.9 ppb), and at two FUD sites the PCB concentrations exceeded safe consumption guidelines. The mean total PCB concentration for fish was 2.8 ppb; fish PCB concentrations were higher at FUD sites (3.2 ppb) compared to non-military sites (1.2 ppb). These results support the need to remediate the FUD sites of “Building 551/T Dock to Airport” and “Delta Western”. More generally, these results provide further evidence of the continued problem of PCB contamination at FUD sites in the Arctic, many of which are co-located with indigenous communities.

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Endocrine disruption and differential gene expression in sentinel fish on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska: Health implications for indigenous residents

Cited by 20 publications

References 67 publications

The Origin of a New Sex Chromosome by Introgression between Two Stickleback Fishes

The Origin of a New Sex Chromosome by Introgression between Two Stickleback Fishes

Assessing the Ability of Developmentally Precocious Estrogen Signaling to Recapitulate Ovarian Transcriptomes and Follicle Dynamics in Alligators from a Contaminated Lake

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago

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