Minimally invasive transcriptome profiling in salmon: detection of biological response in rainbow trout caudal fin following exposure to environmental chemical contaminants.

An increasing number of anthropogenic chemicals have demonstrated potential for disruption of biological processes critical to normal growth and development of wildlife species. Both anadromous and freshwater salmon species are at risk of exposure to environmental chemical contaminants that may affect migratory behavior, environmental fitness, and reproductive success. A sensitive metric in determination of the presence and impact of such environmental chemical contaminants is through detection of changes in the status of gene transcript levels using a targeted quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Ideally, the wildlife assessment strategy would incorporate conservation-centered non-lethal practices. Herein, we describe the development of such an assay for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, following an acute 96 h exposure to increasing concentrations of either 17α-ethinyl estradiol or cadmium. The estrogenic screen included measurement of mRNA encoding estrogen receptor α and ß isoforms, vitellogenin, vitelline envelope protein γ, cytochrome p450 family 19 subfamily A, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, and the stress indicator, catalase. The metal exposure screen included evaluation of the latter two mRNA transcripts along with those encoding the metallothionein A and B isoforms. Exposure-dependent transcript abundance profiles were detected in both liver and caudal fin supporting the use of the caudal fin as a non-lethally obtained tissue source. The potential for both transcriptome profiling and genotypic sex determination from fin biopsy was extended, in principle, to field-captured Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

Source tracking fecal bacteria in water: a critical review of current methods.

Many molecular and biochemical methods and techniques are being developed to track sources of bacteria in water and food. Currently, there is no standard method proposed for source tracking. This manuscript is a critical evaluation of the various methods used in watersheds, and highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Making a decision on a single or combination of methods to use under a particular situation will depend on a number of factors including: question(s) to be answered, scale of identification (broad scale versus specific species identification), available expertise, cost of analysis, turnaround time, and access to facilities. This manuscript reviews several source tracking methodologies which are in current use for source tracking fecal bacteria in the environment including: ribotyping, pulse-field gel electrophoresis, denaturing-gradient gel electrophoresis, repetitive DNA sequences (Rep-PCR), host-specific 16S rDNA genetic markers, and antibiotic resistance analysis.