Evolution of biological effects of Aznalcóllar mining spill in the Algerian mouse (Mus spretus) using biochemical biomarkers

Sex differences in telomeres and lifespan

“…Yet, across all taxa, there are many specific examples that illustrate that the relationship between sex, oxidative stress, and telomeres is not that clear. For example, male and female Algerian mice (Mus spretus) have equal levels of oxidative stress (Bonilla-Valverde et al, 2004), but males have greater telomere shortening in many tissues (CovielloMcLaughlin & Prowse, 1997). Whereas female alpine swifts (Apus melba) and Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) have more and less oxidative stress than males, respectively (Bize et al, 2008;van de Crommenacker et al, 2011), yet there are no sex differences in erythrocyte telomere shortening (Bize et al, 2009;Barrett et al, unpublished data).…”

New Methodologies for Assessing the Presence and Ecological Effects of Pesticides in Doñana National Park (SW Spain)

“…This small animal attains high population densities, typically inhabits marshlands, and feeds on seeds, insects and small invertebrates around its burrow. This free-living rodent has proved to be an excellent bioindicator of contamination in terrestrial ecosystems (Nunes et al, 2001;Ruiz-Laguna et al, 2001;Bonilla-Valverde et al, 2004). The two murine species separated more than one million years ago (Gao & Zhang, 2003) and exhibit a relatively high gene sequence homology.…”

“…From 1997 to 2002 biomarkers evolved as follows: 1) Antioxidative (CAT, SOD, GSSGRase, G6PDH) and biotransforming (GSTc, GSTm) enzymes and MDA and GSSG levels were lower in LDP mice than in those along Guadiamar course, and decreased in 2001-2002, indicating a clear recovery after dilution of the metals released. 2) Other biomarkers (G6PDH, GSHPx and especially EROD) were also high in LDP mice and increased in [2001][2002], suggesting the presence in the medium/low Guadiamar course, and even in Doñana, of organic pollutants, such as the pesticides used in intensive agriculture of nearby areas, strawberry and citric crops West of DNP, and the rice fields East of Guadiamar (Bonilla-Valverde et al, 2004). In 2002, the effects of Aznalcóllar spill and those of agrochemicals used around DNP were compared in M. spretus from sites along Guadiamar, Rocina (ROC 5/6 ) and Partido (PAR 7/8 ) streams, within Doñana Biological Reserve (LDP) and Matochal rice fields.…”

Global gene expression profiling using heterologous DNA microarrays to analyze alterations in the transcriptome of Mus spretus mice living in a heavily polluted environment

“…The use of conventional biomarkers (i.e., enzymes involved in biotransformation or with antioxidative properties) has been shown to be of limited utility in monitoring terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems due to their complexity. (Bonilla-Valverde et al 2004;Marques et al 2008;Rodriguez-Ariza et al 1999;RodriguezOrtega et al 2002;Romero-Ruiz et al 2003;VioqueFernandez et al 2007VioqueFernandez et al , 2009. Moreover, these tests are intrinsically biased in assessing a limited number of well-known biomolecules while excluding others simply because their relationship to the contamination is not known.…”

“…M. spretus is a non-protected rodent that attains high population densities, typically inhabits marshlands, and feeds on plants, seeds, and insects around its burrow. M. spretus has proven to be a useful sentinel species in monitoring programs through the use of different biometric, cytogenetic, and biochemical biomarkers (Bonilla-Valverde et al 2004;Marques et al 2006;Mateos et al 2008;Ruiz-Laguna et al 2006;RuizLaguna et al 2001;Viegas-Crespo et al 2003) and the use of global proteomic (Montes-Nieto et al 2007) and transcriptomic (Abril et al 2014;Abril et al 2011;RuizLaguna et al 2006) analyses. M. spretus diverged from the model mice M. musculus approximately 1.5 million years ago, but both species conserve a remarkable nucleotide sequence similarity (Abril et al 2014;Abril et al 2012;Mahler et al 2008;Ruiz-Laguna et al 2006).…”