21 research outputs found
Hepatic transcriptional responses to copper in the three-spined stickleback are affected by their pollution exposure history
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Some fish populations inhabiting contaminated environments show evidence of increased chemical tolerance, however the mechanisms contributing to this tolerance, and whether this is heritable, are poorly understood. We investigated the responses of two populations of wild three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) with different histories of contaminant exposure to an oestrogen and copper, two widespread aquatic pollutants. Male stickleback originating from two sites, the River Aire, with a history of complex pollution discharges, and Siblyback Lake, with a history of metal contamination, were depurated and then exposed to copper (46μg/L) and the synthetic oestrogen ethinyloestradiol (22ng/L). The hepatic transcriptomic response was compared between the two populations and to a reference population with no known history of exposure (Houghton Springs, Dorset). Gene responses included those typical for both copper and oestrogen, with no discernable difference in response to oestrogen between populations. There was, however, some difference in the magnitude of response to copper between populations. Siblyback fish showed an elevated baseline transcription of genes encoding metallothioneins and a lower level of metallothionein induction following copper exposure, compared to those from the River Aire. Similarly, a further experiment with an F1 generation of Siblyback fish bred in the laboratory found evidence for elevated transcription of genes encoding metallothioneins in unexposed fish, together with an altered transcriptional response to 125μg/L copper, compared with F1 fish originating from the clean reference population exposed to the same copper concentration. These data suggest that the stickleback from Siblyback Lake have a differential response to copper, which is inherited by the F1 generation in laboratory conditions, and for which the underlying mechanism may include an elevation of baseline transcription of genes encoding metallothioneins. The genetic and/or epigenetic mechanisms contributing to this inherited alteration of metallothionein transcription have yet to be established.This work was funded by the UK NERC postgenomic and proteomic programme grant NE/C507661/1 and by a Fisheries Society of the British Isles research grant to EMS. Birmingham functional genomics facilities were funded by BBSRC grant 6/JIF13209. We thank R.E. Godfrey, S. Jondhale, A. Jones, and L. Klovrza for technical assistance, J.K. Chipman for help and support, and the Environment Agency for provision of water chemistry data
The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA. A Suite of Environmental Sensors for the Mars 2020 Mission
86 pags, 49 figs, 24 tabsNASA's Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ∼1.5 m and ∼0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the projects No. ESP2014-54256-C4-1-R (also -2-R, -3-R and -4-R) and AYA2015-65041-P; Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, projects No. ESP2016-79612-C3-1-R (also -2-R and -3-R), ESP2016-80320-C2-1-R, RTI2018-098728-B-C31 (also -C32 and -C33) and RTI2018-099825-B-C31; Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial; Ministry of Science and Innovation's Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology; Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19; and European Research Council Consolidator Grant no 818602.Peer reviewe
Chironomus riparius exposure to field-collected contaminated sediments: From subcellular effect to whole-organism response
The BPA-substitute bisphenol S alters the transcription of genes related to endocrine, stress response and biotransformation pathways in the aquatic midge Chironomus riparius (Diptera, Chironomidae)
Curiosity's rover environmental monitoring station: Overview of the first 100 sols
In the first 100 Martian solar days (sols) of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) measured the seasonally evolving diurnal cycles of ultraviolet radiation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, ground temperature, relative humidity, and wind within Gale Crater on Mars. As an introduction to several REMS-based articles in this issue, we provide an overview of the design and performance of the REMS sensors and discuss our approach to mitigating some of the difficulties we encountered following landing, including the loss of one of the two wind sensors. We discuss the REMS data set in the context of other Mars Science Laboratory instruments and observations and describe how an enhanced observing strategy greatly increased the amount of REMS data returned in the first 100 sols, providing complete coverage of the diurnal cycle every 4 to 6 sols. Finally, we provide a brief overview of key science results from the first 100 sols. We found Gale to be very dry, never reaching saturation relative humidities, subject to larger diurnal surface pressure variations than seen by any previous lander on Mars, air temperatures consistent with model predictions and abundant short timescale variability, and surface temperatures responsive to changes in surface properties and suggestive of subsurface layering.Peer Reviewe
Curiosity's rover environmental monitoring station: Overview of the first 100 sols
In the first 100 Martian solar days (sols) of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) measured the seasonally evolving diurnal cycles of ultraviolet radiation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, ground temperature, relative humidity, and wind within Gale Crater on Mars. As an introduction to several REMS‐based articles in this issue, we provide an overview of the design and performance of the REMS sensors and discuss our approach to mitigating some of the difficulties we encountered following landing, including the loss of one of the two wind sensors. We discuss the REMS data set in the context of other Mars Science Laboratory instruments and observations and describe how an enhanced observing strategy greatly increased the amount of REMS data returned in the first 100 sols, providing complete coverage of the diurnal cycle every 4 to 6 sols. Finally, we provide a brief overview of key science results from the first 100 sols. We found Gale to be very dry, never reaching saturation relative humidities, subject to larger diurnal surface pressure variations than seen by any previous lander on Mars, air temperatures consistent with model predictions and abundant short timescale variability, and surface temperatures responsive to changes in surface properties and suggestive of subsurface layering. Key Points Introduction to the REMS results on MSL mission Overiview of the sensor information Overview of operational constraintsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108302/1/jgre20265.pd