A misdiagnosis of X-linked adrenoleucodystrophy in cultured chorionic villus cells by the measurement of very long chain fatty acids

A case is reported of a male fetus at risk of X-linked adrenoleucodystrophy who showed a normal cultured chorionic villus cell very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) profile but at birth exhibited grossly abnormal plasma and cultured fibroblast VLCFAs. Maternal contamination or a sample mix-up was excluded by chromosome analysis and analysis of polymorphic markers. This is the second report of a fetus affected with this disorder who showed normal cultured chorionic villus cell VLCFAs. It highlights the importance of a proper audit of all prenatal diagnoses to evaluate method reliability.     

Incorporating Recreational Users into Marine Protected Area Planning: A Study of Recreational Boating in British Columbia, Canada

Marine protected areas (MPAs) and zoning plans require an understanding of stakeholders if they are to be successful at achieving social and biological objectives. This study examines recreational boaters in a proposed MPA in British Columbia, Canada, using the recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS) and models of recreation conflict as a basis for investigation. Boaters (n = 543) visiting the region during the summer completed face-to-face surveys. Results show variability in boater setting preferences, supporting an ROS-based approach to MPA planning and zoning. While boaters as a whole placed the greatest importance on natural settings, sailboat operators expressed stronger preferences for natural and quiet settings relative to motorboats, and motorboat operators expressed stronger preferences for settings characterized by built facilities and extractive activities relative to sailboats. Several marine activities emerged as sources of perceived conflict for boaters, including personal watercraft, commercial whale watching vessels, and shellfish aquaculture. Our analysis indicates that while some of these may be addressed through zoning, others are better addressed through education and communication. Recommendations for both MPA management and future research are made.     

Distribution and abundance of marine fish larvae in relation to effluent plumes from sewage outfalls and depth of water

Fish larvae were sampled in and below three separate sewage plumes associated with the cliff-face (shoreline) outfalls at North Head, Bondi and Malabar, and at three control (non-plume) sites located>8 km away from the sewage outfalls, at Long Reef, Port Hacking and Marley Beach, in nearshore waters off Sydney, south-eastern Australia. Samples were collected at the surface and at 20 m depth during three periods: December 1989, April/May 1990 and August/September 1990. In December 1989, a greater number of taxa were caught at both depths at the plume sites compared to the control sites, but this did not occur during the other two sampling periods. Similarly, in April/May 1990, greater numbers of the clupeid Hyperlophus vittatus but fewer anthiines were caught at both depths near the outfalls (plume sites). Myctophids were more numerous in surface samples, but not at 20 m, at the plume sites in both April/May and August/September 1990, whereas in April/May 1990, labrids and anguilliformes were less abundant at 20 m at the plume sites compared to the control sites. These differences in the numbers of fish larvae caught may have been an effect of the effluent plumes, but these results were only correlative. The results most probably reflect spatial heterogeneity in the distribution and relative abundance of fish larvae nearshore to Sydney. There were striking differences, however, in the number of fish larvae caught at the surface and at 20 m, and among sampling periods, but these differences were similar across all sites. Of the 46 taxa considered common, 33 occurred in greater numbers at 20 m than at the surface, whereas only 8 taxa were caught in greater numbers at the surface. The composition of the fish larvae also differed markedly among sampling periods; few taxa were common to all three sampling periods. Greater numbers of fish larvae were caught in April/May and August/September 1990 than in December 1989, particularly at 20 m depth. The data highlight the large spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the distribution and relative abundance of fish larvae nearshore to Sydney and the difficulty of identifying effects that are solely due to sewage plumes.     

Population dynamics of the acorn barnacles, Tetraclita squamosa and Tetraclita japonica (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha), in Hong Kong

Tetraclita squamosa and Tetraclita japonica are common, intertidal barnacles. In Hong Kong, the population dynamics of the two species exhibited spatial and temporal variation on two semi-exposed shores. T. squamosa produced egg masses from May–June and annual settlement and recruitment occurred from June–July. In contrast, settlement and recruitment of T. japonica was sparse from March–May, but intensified in July–October. Mature gonads and egg masses were, however, only present from September–November, suggesting the larvae from the two settlement pulses originated from other locations as well as Hong Kong populations. Settlement intensity and post-recruitment mortality of the two species varied between sites, possibly due to spatial variation in free rock space, physical transport of larvae and abundance of food in the water column.Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate     

Trends in sediment metal concentrations in the River Avoca, South-East Ireland

Variation in sediment metal concentrations in the River Avoca, which is severely polluted by acid mine drainage (AMD) discharged from the abandoned sulphur and copper mines in Avoca, is reported. A survey of surface and subsurface sediments was repeated after seven years during exceptionally low flow conditions in 2001. The present study found that the reference (up-stream) site used in the original 1994 study was itself impacted by AMD, showing sediment metal enrichment by AMD to be greater than originally thought. The new reference site contained elevated Pb (570 microg g(-1)) in the subsurface sediment due to abandoned Pb-Zn mines 25 km further upstream. Concentrations of Cu (43 microg g(-1)), Zn (349 microg g(-1)) and Fe (4.0%) were normal for uncontaminated rivers. All the downstream sites showed sediment metal enrichment arising from the AMD (Cu and Zn p < 0.001; Fe p < 0.01). Subsurface concentrations of metals immediately below the mixing zone were Cu 904 microg g-1 (sd 335), Zn 723 microg g-1 (sd 93), Fe 6.3% (sd 1.5) and Pb 463 microg g(-1) (sd 279). Monthly variation in metal concentrations at sites was not significantly different (p > 0.05). Although surface sediment metal concentrations were more variable, they followed similar trends to subsurface sediment. There were no significant differences in the subsurface sediment concentrations for either Cu or Zn over the period 1994 and 2001 immediately below the mines, although at the lowest site Zn had decreased by 35% over the period (p < 0.01). However there was a significant (p < 0.01) decrease over the period in the Fe concentration at all the impacted sites. This corresponds to a reduction in Fe concentration in the AMD and indicates that some remediation has occurred in the river since 1994.     

Reproductive development of the barnacle Chthamalus malayensis in Hong Kong: implications for the life-history patterns of barnacles on seasonal, tropical shores

Hong Kong, lying just below the Tropic of Cancer (22°17′N, 114°09′E), experiences a strongly seasonal environment, with a cool almost temperate winter and a hot, tropical, summer. Histological sectioning of the gonads of the high-shore barnacle, Chthamalus malayensis Pilsbry, showed a seasonal trend in the development of its reproductive organs. Four stages of female gonad development were identified according to the cell types present: post-spawning, resting, growth and mature stages. The female gonad was mature from April to November, which was related to seawater temperatures, and entered a resting phase from December to March. Although the male gonad showed a seasonal developmental trend and reached maximum maturity in summer, the seminal vesicles were full of spermatozoa and functional throughout the year. The reproductive season of this species is therefore solely dependant upon the maturity of the female gonad. The estimated maximum number of broods per year was up to 10 and the maximum number of eggs produced per brood can reach 3,000 eggs. The minimum size for female gonad maturity was 6 mm rostro-carinal diameter (RCD) at which size, the barnacles were ~6-month old. Sperm production occurred at a smaller size (2 mm=2-month old). Compared with Chthamalus montagui and Chthamalus stellatus from temperate regions, C. malayensis produced a greater number of broods per year, had a longer reproductive period and faster gonad development. Chthamaloid barnacles in tropical regions may, therefore, invest more energy per year in reproduction during their life span. Contrary to the seasonal gonad developmental pattern of C. malayensis in the present study, however, C. malayensis in Singapore (which experiences only slight seasonal variation) had mature female and male gonads throughout the year, further supporting the strong role of climatic conditions effecting the reproductive biology of barnacles.     

Seasonal variation in utilization of biogenic microhabitats by littorinid snails on tropical rocky shores

Mobile species may actively seek refuge from stressful conditions in biogenic habitats on rocky shores. In Hong Kong, the upper intertidal zone is extremely stressful, especially in summer when organisms are emersed for long periods in hot desiccating conditions. As a result, many species migrate downshore between winter and summer to reduce these stressful conditions. The littorinids Echinolittorina malaccana and E. vidua, for example, are found on open rock surfaces high on the shore in winter but the majority migrate downshore in summer to the same tidal height as a common barnacle, Tetraclita japonica. In the laboratory, where environmental conditions could be controlled to approximate those occurring on the shore, we tested whether the downshore migration allowed littorinids to select barnacles as biogenic habitats to reduce stress and if this behaviour varied between seasons. In summer, littorinids demonstrated a strong active preference for the barnacles, which was not observed in the cool winter conditions, when animals were found on open rock surfaces even when barnacles were present. Littorinids, therefore, only actively select biogenic habitats during the summer in Hong Kong when they migrate downshore, suggesting that such habitats may play an important, temporal, role in mitigating environmental stress on tropical shores.     

利用哺乳动物测试系统识别非哺乳类群中雌激素化学物质的科学基础评估

美国环境保护部负责评估超过10 000种化学物质的内分泌活动,而合理的实现评估不能仅仅利用体内化验。因此,使用以特定的内分泌系统为目标测定的体外高通量(HTP)数据提出了化学物质体内化验优先原则。最近聚焦于潜在雌激素化学物质—特别是关于能够激活雌激素受体α(ERα)的化学物质的研究工作大致证实了该方法的可行性。然而,该方法存在一个主要的不确定性,那就是基于哺乳动物(主要是人类)的HTP ER化验的优先级是否能够准确地反映chemical-ERα在非哺乳类物种中潜在的相互作用。这里我们对以下几方面进行了全面分析,包括基于ERs结构属性、体外绑定和ERα反式激活数据的相关信息研究chemical-ERα交互作用的跨物种相似性,以及一系列化学物质对体内雌激素信号通路的影响。总的来说,这种综合分析表明,在哺乳动物系统中具有中度到高度雌激素效能的化学物质在非哺乳类脊椎动物中同样是优先级的化学物质。然而,由于缺乏对可能的ERαorthologues的生物作用的了解,优先级方法在多大程度上能够适用于无脊椎动物是不确定的。进一步比较分析鱼类和爬行动物的体外数据表明基于哺乳类的试验可能不会有效地获取在所有脊椎动物门类中ERα与低亲和力的化学物质的交互作用。
精选自Gerald T. Ankley, Carlie A. LaLone, L. Earl Gray, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Michael W. Hornung. Evaluation of the Scientific Underpinnings for Identifying Estrogenic Chemicals in Non-Mammalian Taxa using Mammalian Test Systems. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Volume 35, Issue 11, pages 2806–2816, November 2016.DOI: 10.1002/etc.3456
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3456/full
     

The malaria parasite Plasmodium relictum in the endemic avifauna of eastern Cuba

Island populations are vulnerable to introduced pathogens, as evidenced by extinction or population decline of several endemic Hawaiian birds caused by the malaria parasite, Plasmodium relictum (order Haemosporida). We analyzed blood samples from 363 birds caught near Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for the presence of haemosporidian infections. We characterized parasite lineages by determining nucleotide variation of the parasite's mitochondrial cyt b gene. Fifty‐nine individuals were infected, and we identified 7 lineages of haemosporidian parasites. Fifty individuals were infected by 6 Haemoproteus sp. lineages, including a newly characterized lineage of Haem. (Parahaemoproteus) sp. CUH01. Nine individuals carried the P. relictum lineage GRW4, including 5 endemic Cuban Grassquits (Tiaris canorus) and 1 migratory Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina). A sequence of the merozoite surface protein gene from one Cuban Grassquit infected with GRW4 matched that of the Hawaiian haplotype Pr9. Our results indicate that resident and migratory Cuban birds are infected with a malaria lineage that has severely affected populations of several endemic Hawaiian birds. We suggest GRW4 may be associated with the lack of several bird species on Cuba that are ubiquitous elsewhere in the West Indies. From the standpoint of avian conservation in the Caribbean Basin, it will be important to determine the distribution of haemosporidian parasites, especially P. relictum GRW4, in Cuba as well as the pathogenicity of this lineage in species that occur and are absent from Cuba.