BioProject

Ovarian development and physiology are sensitive to the presence of endocrine disruptors in the environment. More...

Ovarian development and physiology are sensitive to the presence of endocrine disruptors in the environment. Juvenile cod were caged for 6 weeks at capped waste disposal site of Kollevåg (Norway) to investigate alterations in reproductive ability due to the leakage of contaminants from this site. Cages were placed to achieve contamination gradient, with station 1 closest to the capped site and considered as the most polluted station, followed by stations 2 and 3. A reference station was selected at Ertenøyane, an area far from Kollevåg. Chemical analysis of sediment collected from these stations, as well as biological samples (bile/liver) revealed the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were measured at concentration that are significantly decreasing trend towards Ertenøyane (i.e. the control site; Dale et al. (2019). Using the sensitivity of transcriptome sequencing (Illumina HiSeq 4000), we have quantified changes in expression of genes to complex contaminant mixture at the contaminated stations. Genes that passed the threshold value of Log2-fold change of 0.75 on both side (up and down regulated), varied among stations. A large number of differentially-expressed transcripts of about 1416 genes were observed at station one followed by stations 2 and 3 with 698 and 719 genes respectively. Particularly, all three stations showed significant increases in the expression of steroidogenesis pathway genes, as well as transcription factors such as esr2 and ahr2 with maximum fold-change observed at Station 1. MetaCore pathway maps identified biological functions and pathways potentially altered by this exposure, including those involved in ovarian development, cytoskeleton remodelling, oxidative stress, apoptosis and lipid metabolism. Overall, our finding showed a direct association between contaminant burden and ovarian toxicological responses at Kollevåg. DALE, K., MULLER, M. B., TAIROVA, Z., KHAN, E. A., HATLEN, K., GRUNG, M., YADETIE, F., LILLE-LANGOY, R., BLASER, N., SKAUG, H. J., LYCHE, J. L., ARUKWE, A., HYLLAND, K., KARLSEN, O. A. & GOKSOYR, A. 2019. Contaminant accumulation and biological responses in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) caged at a capped waste disposal site in Kollevag, Western Norway. Mar Environ Res. Less...