Eeva Tapio, Belskii Eugen, Kuranov Boris
Section of Ecology, University of Turku, FIN-20014, Finland.
Mutat Res. 2006 Sep 19;608(1):8-15. doi: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2006.04.021. Epub 2006 Jun 23.
Many common environmental pollutants, together with nuclear radiation, are recognized as genotoxic. There is, however, very little information on pollution-related genetic effects on free-living animal populations, especially in terrestrial ecosystems. We investigated whether genetic diversity in two small insectivorous passerines, the great tit (Parus major) and the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), was changed near point sources of heavy metals (two copper smelters) or radioactive isotopes (nuclear material reprocessing plant). We measured concentration of heavy metals and nucleotide diversity in mitochondrial DNA in feather samples taken from nestlings in multiple polluted areas and at control sites. In both species, heavy metal concentrations - especially of arsenic - were increased in feathers collected at smelter sites. The P. major population living near a smelter showed significantly higher nucleotide diversity than a control population in an unpolluted site, suggesting increased mutation rates in a polluted environment. On the contrary, F. hypoleuca showed reduced nucleotide diversity at both smelter sites but increased nucleotide diversity near the source of radioactivity. Our results show that heavy metal pollution and low level nuclear radiation affect the nucleotide diversity in two free-living insectivorous passerines. We suggest that the different response in these two species may be due to their different ability to handle toxic compounds in the body.
许多常见的环境污染物，连同核辐射，都被认为具有基因毒性。然而，关于污染对自由生活的动物种群，尤其是陆地生态系统中动物种群的遗传影响的信息却非常少。我们调查了两种小型食虫鸣禽，大山雀（Parus major）和斑姬鹟（Ficedula hypoleuca），在重金属点源（两个铜冶炼厂）或放射性同位素源（核材料再处理厂）附近其遗传多样性是否发生了变化。我们测量了从多个污染区域和对照地点的雏鸟采集的羽毛样本中重金属的浓度以及线粒体DNA中的核苷酸多样性。在这两个物种中，冶炼厂地点采集的羽毛中重金属浓度，尤其是砷的浓度有所增加。生活在冶炼厂附近的大山雀种群的核苷酸多样性显著高于未受污染地点的对照种群，这表明在污染环境中突变率增加。相反，斑姬鹟在两个冶炼厂地点的核苷酸多样性降低，但在放射性源附近核苷酸多样性增加。我们的结果表明，重金属污染和低水平核辐射会影响两种自由生活的食虫鸣禽的核苷酸多样性。我们认为这两个物种的不同反应可能是由于它们在体内处理有毒化合物的能力不同。
