| Title |
Oxidative stress in songbirds exposed to dietary methylmercury
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Ecotoxicology, December 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10646-014-1400-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Katie A. Henry, Daniel A. Cristol, Claire W. Varian-Ramos, Eric L. Bradley |
| Abstract |
Long-term, sublethal methylmercury exposure can cause reproductive depression, immune suppression, endocrine disruption and other problems in birds. We used two biomarkers to detect oxidative stress in livers of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) developmentally exposed to sublethal levels of dietary methylmercury (0.0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, or 2.4 μg/g wet weight in diet). Our findings indicate that young adult finches exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of mercury in ovo and through their diets, exhibited oxidative stress in their livers. We measured the ratio of the antioxidant glutathione in its reduced form (GSH) versus its oxidized form (GSSG) and the activity of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme suite. Blood total mercury served as a proxy for liver mercury concentration, and was on average 8.4 times the dietary dose (e.g., birds consuming 0.6 μg/g had blood mercury levels of ~5 μg/g on a wet weight basis). Consistent with what is known from large, aquatic bird species, there was a significant, negative relationship between GSH/GSSG ratios and tissue mercury concentrations, which is indicative of oxidative stress. This relationship was driven by a significant increase in the oxidized glutathione in the livers of birds with higher blood mercury levels. SOD activity was also found to have a significant, negative relationship with blood mercury. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 2 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 63 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 2% |
| Unknown | 62 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 14% |
| Student > Bachelor | 9 | 14% |
| Student > Master | 8 | 13% |
| Researcher | 5 | 8% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 6% |
| Other | 15 | 24% |
| Unknown | 13 | 21% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 21 | 33% |
| Environmental Science | 7 | 11% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 5% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 2 | 3% |
| Unspecified | 2 | 3% |
| Other | 9 | 14% |
| Unknown | 19 | 30% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 April 2015.
All research outputs
#15,262,331
of 22,774,233 outputs
Outputs from Ecotoxicology
#625
of 1,473 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#208,108
of 353,309 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Ecotoxicology
#12
of 45 outputs
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So far Altmetric has tracked 1,473 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.5. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 55% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 45 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 71% of its contemporaries.