Background fish feminization effects in European remote sites
Jarque, Sergio (Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental i Estudis de l'Aigua)
Quirós, Laia (Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental i Estudis de l'Aigua)
Grimalt, Joan (Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental i Estudis de l'Aigua)
Gallego, Eva (Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental i Estudis de l'Aigua)
Catalán, Jordi (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Lackner, Reinhard (Universität Innsbruck. Institut für Zoologie)
Piña Capó, Benjamí (Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental i Estudis de l'Aigua)

Date:	2015
Abstract:	Human activity has spread trace amounts of chemically stable endocrine-disrupting pollutants throughout the biosphere. These compounds have generated a background level of estrogenic activity that needs to be assessed. Fish are adequate sentinels for feminization effects as male specimens are more sensitive than humans to exogenous estrogenic compounds. High mountain lakes, the most distant environments of continental areas, only receive semi-volatile compounds from atmospheric deposition. We analyzed the expression levels of estrogen-regulated genes in male fish from these mountain lakes in Europe. Incipient feminization involving expression of estrogen receptor and zona radiata genes revealed a widespread diffuse estrogenic impact. This effect was correlated with the concentrations of some organochlorine compounds in fish and was consistent with the persistent occurrence of these tropospheric pollutants in the most remote planet regions. These results should be of general concern given the increasing endocrine disruption effects in human populations.
Grants:	European Commission 505540 European Commission 603946 European Commission LIFE12/001040 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CSD2007-00067
Note:	We acknowledge financial support from the EU projects, EUROLIMPACS, CROME-LIFE, HEALS, and the Spanish project, Consolider-Ingenio GRACCIE.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Fish feminization
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 5 (June 2015) , art. 11292, ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/srep11292
PMID: 26061088

6 p, 574.4 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles