Molecular assessment of wild populations in the marine realm: Importance of taxonomic, seasonal and habitat patterns in environmental monitoring.

Scientists are currently faced with the challenge of assessing the effects of anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems. Cellular stress response (CSR) biomarkers are ubiquitous and phylogenetically conserved among metazoans and have been successfully applied in environmental monitoring but they can also vary according to natural biotic and abiotic factors. The reported variability may thus limit the wide application of biomarkers in monitoring, imposing the need to identify variability levels in the field. Our aim was to carry out a comprehensive in situ assessment of the CSR (heat shock protein 70 kDa, ubiquitin, antioxidant enzymes) and oxidative damage (lipid peroxidation) in wild populations across marine taxa by collecting fish, crustaceans, mollusks and cnidarians during two different seasons (spring and summer) and two habitat types (coast and estuary). CSR end-point patterns were different between taxa with mollusks having higher biomarker levels, followed by the cnidarians, while fish and crustaceans showed lower biomarker levels. The PCA showed clear clusters related to mobility/sessile traits with sessile organisms showing greater levels (>2-fold) of CSR proteins and oxidative damage. Mean intraspecific variability in the CSR measured by the coefficient of variation (% CV) (including data from all seasons and sites) was elevated (35-94%). Overall, there was a seasonal differentiation in biomarker patterns across taxonomic groups, especially evident in fish and cnidarians. A differentiation in biomarker patterns between habitat types was also observed and associated with phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation. Overall, specimens collected in the estuary had lower biomarker levels when compared to specimens collected in the coast. This work highlights the importance of assessing baseline biomarker levels across taxa, seasons and habitats prior to applying biomarker analyses in environmental monitoring. Selecting bioindicator species, defining sampling strategies, and identifying confounding factors are crucial preliminary steps that ensure the success of biomarkers as powerful tools in biomonitoring.

Benoît-Jules Mure no Brasil: 1840-1848

Assim como em outros lugares por onde Benoit Mure andou, sua passagem pelo Brasil é repleta de acontecimentos extraordinários, com direito à fuga de navio, disputas entre colonos, acusação de envenenamento, entre outras aventuras, dignas de um roteiro cinematográfico. Não faltam também muitas polêmicas, tais como: o que teria concorrido para o fracasso da colônia do Saí? A escola de homeopatia do Saí teria realmente funcionado? Afinal, Mure era ou não era médico? Que motivos levaram Mure a decidir partir do Brasil? Respondendo a essas e outras perguntas, esse trabalho objetiva contar a história de Benoît Mure durante os quase oito anos que permaneceu no Brasil, entre 21 de novembro de 1840 e 13 abril de 1848. Esse trabalho justifica-se porque quem estuda homeopatia não deve ignorar a sua história, sobretudo relativa ao introdutor da homeopatia no Brasil. Para tanto, inspirado na tese de José Emygdio Rodrigues Galhardo,¹ proponho-me contar a história descrevendo os fatos, sem a pretensão de realizar uma análise sociológica e política contextualizadas, indicando as referências bibliográficas àqueles que se desejarem aprofundar nesses contextos.