Spillway-Induced Salmon Head Injury Triggers the Generation of Brain αII-Spectrin Breakdown Product Biomarkers Similar to Mammalian Traumatic Brain Injury

Recent advances in biomedical research have resulted in the development of specific biomarkers for diagnostic testing of disease condition or physiological risk. Of specific interest are αII-spectrin breakdown products (SBDPs), which are produced by proteolytic events in traumatic brain injury and have been used as biomarkers to predict the severity of injury in humans and other mammalian brain injury models. This study describes and demonstrates the successful use of antibody-based mammalian SBDP biomarkers to detect head injury in migrating juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) that have been injured during passage through high-energy hydraulic environments present in spillways under different operational configurations. Mortality and injury assessment techniques currently measure only near-term direct mortality and easily observable acute injury. Injury-based biomarkers may serve as a quantitative indicator of subacute physical injury and recovery, and aid hydropower operators in evaluation of safest passage configuration and operation actions for migrating juvenile salmonids. We describe a novel application of SBDP biomarkers for head injury for migrating salmon. To our knowledge, this is the first documented cross-over use of a human molecular biomarker in a wildlife and operational risk management scenario

Scientific Opportunities for Monitoring at Environmental Remediation Sites (SOMERS): Integrated Systems-Based Approaches to Monitoring

Through an inter-disciplinary effort, DOE is addressing a need to advance monitoring approaches from sole reliance on cost- and labor-intensive point-source monitoring to integrated systems-based approaches such as flux-based approaches and the use of early indicator parameters. Key objectives include identifying current scientific, technical and implementation opportunities and challenges, prioritizing science and technology strategies to meet current needs within the DOE complex for the most challenging environments, and developing an integrated and risk-informed monitoring framework

Scientific Opportunities for Monitoring of Environmental Remediation Sites (SOMERS) - 12224

ABSTRACT The US Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for risk reduction and cleanup of its nuclear weapons complex. DOE maintains the largest cleanup program in the world, currently spanning over a million acres in 13 states. The inventory of contaminated materials includes 90 million gallons of radioactive waste, 6.4 trillion liters of groundwater, and 40 million cubic meters of soil and debris. It is not feasible to completely restore many sites to predisposal conditions. Any contamination left in place will require monitoring, engineering controls and/or land use restrictions to protect human health and environment. Research and development efforts to date have focused on improving characterization and remediation. Yet, monitoring will result in the largest life-cycle costs and will be critical to improving performance and protection. Through an inter-disciplinary effort, DOE is addressing a need to advance monitoring approaches from sole reliance on cost-and labor-intensive point-source monitoring to integrated systems-based approaches such as flux-based approaches and the use of early indicator parameters. Key objectives include identifying current scientific, technical and implementation opportunities and challenges, prioritizing science and technology strategies to meet current needs within the DOE complex for the most challenging environments, and developing an integrated and risk-informed monitoring framework

Acoustic Telemetry Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Passage and Survival at John Day Dam, 2010

This report presents survival, behavioral, and fish passage results for yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon smolts and juvenile steelhead tagged with JSATS acoustic micro-transmitters as part of a survival study conducted at John Day Dam during 2010. This study was designed to evaluate the passage and survival of yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead to assist managers in identifying dam operations for compliance testing as stipulated by the 2008 Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion and the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords. Survival estimates were based on a single-release survival estimate model

Interspecies Comparison of αII-Spectrin Abundance Between Chinook Salmon and Steelhead

Salmonids, such as Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss), are a staple economic, recreational, tribal, and environmental resource, yet many populations are unsustainable. This study was part of a broad scale effort to monitor the impact of downstream migration obstacles on juvenile salmonid health and survival, which is an essential step towards increasing Smolt-to-Adult Return ratios (SARs). The objective of this study was to determine if juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead exhibit differing quantities of alphaII-Spectrin Breakdown Products (SBDPs) over two consecutive spring migration periods, indicative of neurogenesis rate and/or biological response to head injury. AlphaII-Spectrin is a cytoskeletal protein that fragments during necrosis and apoptosis. These fragments, known as SBDPs, have previously been used to detect head trauma in juvenile Chinook salmon. In this study, SBDPs were utilized as biomarkers to semi quantitatively assess brain cell damage and neurogenesis. SBDPs were detected through Western Blot analysis and compared between species using a T-Test (JMP 9). Results show that steelhead exhibit greater abundance of SBDP than Chinook salmon during the two consecutive spring migration periods that were analyzed. Results have implications for population dynamic analysis, hydropower facility operation, fish hatchery management, downstream fish transportation, habitat restoration, and future funding allocations for the protection of salmonids. PNNL-SA-81996

Evolution of hematopoiesis: Three members of the PU.1 transcription factor family in a cartilaginous fish, Raja eglanteria

T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes are present in jawed vertebrates, including cartilaginous fishes, but not in jawless vertebrates or invertebrates. The origins of these lineages may be understood in terms of evolutionary changes in the structure and regulation of transcription factors that control lymphocyte development, such as PU.1. The identification and characterization of three members of the PU.1 family of transcription factors in a cartilaginous fish, Raja eglanteria, are described here. Two of these genes are orthologs of mammalian PU.1 and Spi-C, respectively, whereas the third gene, Spi-D, is a different family member. In addition, a PU.1-like gene has been identified in a jawless vertebrate, Petromyzon marinus (sea lamprey). Both DNA-binding and transactivation domains are highly conserved between mammalian and skate PU.1, in marked contrast to lamprey Spi, in which similarity is evident only in the DNA-binding domain. Phylogenetic analysis of sequence data suggests that the appearance of Spi-C may predate the divergence of the jawed and jawless vertebrates and that Spi-D arose before the divergence of the cartilaginous fish from the lineage leading to the mammals. The tissue-specific expression patterns of skate PU.1 and Spi-C suggest that these genes share regulatory as well as structural properties with their mammalian orthologs

Data from: Effects of a novel fish transport system on the health of adult fall Chinook salmon

Movement past hydroelectric dams and related in-river structures has important implications for habitat connectivity and population persistence in migratory fish. A major problem is that many of these structures lack effective fish passage facilities, which can fragment spawning and rearing areas and negatively impact recruitment. While traditional fish passage facilities (e.g., ladders, trap and haul) can effectively enable fish to pass over barriers, their capital or operational costs can be significant. We evaluated the utility of a novel transport device that utilizes a flexible tube with differential internal air pressure to pass fish around in-river barriers. A total of N = 147 adult fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) nearing maturation were apportioned to three treatments and a control group. In two of the treatments, adult fall Chinook salmon were transported through the device via two lengths of tube (12 or 77 m) and their injury, stress, and immune system responses and reproductive function were compared to a third treatment where fish were moved by a standard trap and haul method and also to a control group. We observed no significant differences among the treatment or control groups in post-treatment adult survival, injury or stress. Indicators of immune system response and reproductive readiness were also not significantly different among the four groups. Egg survival was significantly different among the groups, with the highest survival in the eggs from females transported 77 m and lowest in the control group; the differences were highly variable within groups and not consistent with the duration of treatment or degree of handling. Taken together, the results suggest the device did not injure or alter normal physiological functioning of adult fall Chinook salmon nearing maturation and may provide an effective method for transporting such fish around in-river barriers during their spawning migration

Supplemental_Data_JFWM-108R

Table A1. The results of a fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) passage and handling study conducted in November, 2014, at the Priest Rapids Salmon Hatchery, Mattawa, Washington. Each adult salmon was given a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag with a unique identification code (column: PIT tag number). Their gender was determined (column: Sex with M = male and F = female). Fork length was measured in cm (column: Length), body circumference was measured in cm (column: Circumference), and body weight taken in kg (column: Weight). Fish were divided into one of four treatment groups (column: Treatment) – Whoosh Fish Transport System (WFTS) 77 m tube (WFTS-77), WFTS 12 m tube (WFTS-12), trap and haul (T&H), or control. Treatment dates (column: Treatment date) ranged from November 4-6, 2014 and mortality dates (column: Mortality date) ranged from November 4-11, 2014. The following information was collected on a subset of fish – column: Spleen IL1-β normalized with 18s (n = 65); column: Spleen IgM normalized with 18s (n = 65); column: Cortisol concentration (ng/mL) (n = 41); column: Day 3 vitellogenin concentration (mg/mL) (n = 63); and column: Percent epithelial injury (%) (n = 42). In all columns, NR represents no data were recorded. Table A2. The gamete survival results from a study on the effects of passage and handling conducted in 2014 with adult fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) that were captured at Priest Rapids Salmon Hatchery, Mattawa, Washington. Each fish was given a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag with a unique identification code (column: PIT tag number). Fish were divided into one of four treatment groups (column: Treatment) – Whoosh Fish Transport System (WFTS) 77 m tube (WFTS-77), WFTS 12 m tube (WFTS-12), trap and haul (T&H), or control. Their gender was determined (column: Sex with M = male and F = female). One female’s eggs were fertilized with sperm from one male (column: Pair number) for a total of 37 pairings (i.e., sib family). The fertilized eggs were divided into three sub-samples per family (approximately 100 eggs per sub-sample) and randomly assigned to a stack, tray and cell in vertical flow incubators. Fertilized eggs were held in incubation trays at ~10°C until they reached the eyed egg stage (December 17, 2014, or approximately 40 days post-fertilization), at which time the number of live and dead eggs were counted to determine gamete survival by cell (columns labeled 1st cell survival, 2nd cell survival, and 3rd cell survival, all percentages). Data analysis was done on the average embryo survival to the eyed stage (subsamples were averaged per sib family) (column: Average survival %)

Complex expression patterns of lymphocyte-specific genes during the development of cartilaginous fish implicate unique lymphoid tissues in generating an immune repertoire

Cartilaginous fish express canonical B and T cell recognition genes, but their lymphoid organs and lymphocyte development have been poorly defined. Here, the expression of Ig, TCR, recombination-activating gene (Rag)-1 and terminal deoxynucleosidase (TdT) genes has been used to identify roles of various lymphoid tissues throughout development in the cartilaginous fish, Raja eglanteria (clearnose skate). In embryogenesis, Ig and TCR genes are sharply up-regulated at 8 weeks of development. At this stage TCR and TdT expression is limited to the thymus; later, TCR gene expression appears in peripheral sites in hatchlings and adults, suggesting that the thymus is a source of T cells as in mammals. B cell gene expression indicates more complex roles for the spleen and two special organs of cartilaginous fish—the Leydig and epigonal (gonad-associated) organs. In the adult, the Leydig organ is the site of the highest IgM and IgX expression. However, the spleen is the first site of IgM expression, while IgX is expressed first in gonad, liver, Leydig and even thymus. Distinctive spatiotemporal patterns of Ig light chain gene expression also are seen. A subset of Ig genes is pre-rearranged in the germline of the cartilaginous fish, making expression possible without rearrangement. To assess whether this allows differential developmental regulation, IgM and IgX heavy chain cDNA sequences from specific tissues and developmental stages have been compared with known germline-joined genomic sequences. Both non-productively rearranged genes and germline-joined genes are transcribed in the embryo and hatchling, but not in the adult