Abstract
Evolutionary Toxicology is the study of the effects of chemical pollutants on the genetics of natural populations. Research in Evolutionary Toxicology uses experimental designs familiar to the ecotoxicologist with matched reference and contaminated sites and the selection of sentinel species. It uses the methods of molecular genetics and population genetics, and is based on the theories and concepts of evolutionary biology and conservation genetics. Although it is a relatively young field, interest is rapidly growing among ecotoxicologists and more and more field studies and even controlled laboratory experiments are appearing in the literature. A number of population genetic impacts have been observed in organisms exposed to pollutants which I refer to here as the four cornerstones of Evolutionary Toxicology. These include (1) genome-wide changes in genetic diversity, (2) changes in allelic or genotypic frequencies caused by contaminant-induced selection acting at survivorship loci, (3) changes in dispersal patterns or gene flow which alter the genetic relationships among populations, and (4) changes in allelic or genotypic frequencies caused by increased mutation rates. It is concluded that population genetic impacts of pollution exposure are emergent effects that are not necessarily predictable from the mode of toxicity of the pollutant. Thus, to attribute an effect to a particular contaminant requires a careful experimental design which includes selection of appropriate reference sites, detailed chemistry analyses of environmental samples and tissues, and the use of appropriate biomarkers to establish exposure and effect. This paper describes the field of Evolutionary Toxicology and discusses relevant field studies and their findings.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen DL (2008) Making sense (and antisense) of myosin heavy chain gene expression. Am J Phy 295:R206–R207
Baker R, Bickham A, Bondarkov M, Gaschak S, Matson C, Rodgers B, Wickliffe J, Chesser R (2001) Consequences of polluted environments on population structure: The bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) at Chornobyl. Ecotoxicology 10:211–216
Bickham JW, Smolen MJ (1994) Somatic and heritable effects of environmental genotoxins and the emergence of evolutionary toxicology. Environ Health Perspect 102(Suppl. 12):25–28
Bickham JW, Sandhu SS, Hebert PDN, Chikhi L, Anthwal R (2000) Effects of chemical contaminants on genetic diversity in natural populations: implications for biomonitoring and ecotoxicology. Mutat Res 463:33–51
Cohen S (2002) Strong positive selection and habitat-specific amino acid substitution patterns in MHC from an estuarine fish under intense pollution stress. Mol Biol Evol 19:1870–1880
Cohen S, Tirindelli J, Gomez-Chiarri M, Nacci D (2006) Functional implications of major histocompatibility (MH) variation using estuarine fish populations. Integr Comp Biol 46:1016–1029
Desneux N, Bernal JS (2010) Genetically modified crops deserve greater ecotoxicological scrutiny. Ecotoxicology 19:1642–1644
Devlin RH, Sundstrom FL (2010) Box 2: environmental risk assessment of genetically engineered salmon. In: Molecular approaches in natural resource conservation and management. Cambridge University Press, NewYork. pp 37–39
Matson CW, Lambert MM, McDonald TJ, Autenrieth RL, Donnelly KC, Islamzadeh A, Politov DI, Bickham JW (2006) Evolutionary toxicology and population genetic effects of chronic contaminant exposure on marsh frogs (Rana ridibunda) in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan. Environ Health Perspect 114:547–552
Medina MH, Correa JA, Barata C (2007) Micro-evolution due to pollution: possible consequences for ecosystem responses to toxic stress. Chemosphere 67:2105–2114
Meeks HN, Chesser RK, Rodgers BE, Gaschak S, Baker RJ (2009) Understanding the genetic consequences of environmental toxicant exposure: Chernobyl as a model system. Environ Toxicol Chem 28:1982–1994
Pfau RS, McBee K, Van Den Bussche RA (2001) Genetic diversity of the major histocompatibility complex of cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) inhabiting an oil refinery complex. Environ Toxicol Chem 20:2224–2228
Rinner BP, Matson CW, Islamzadeh A, McDonald TJ, Donnelly KC, Bickham JW (2011) Evolutionary toxicology: contaminant-induced genetic mutations in mosquitofish from Sumgayit, Azerbaijan. Ecotoxicology 20:365–376
Rose WL, Anderson SI (2005) Genetic ecotoxicology. In: Wexler P (ed) Encyclopedia of toxicology, 2nd edn. Elsevier Ltd, Oxford, pp 126–132
Schaal B, Leverich WL, Jamjod S et al (2010) Gene flow, biodiversity, and genetically modified crops: weedy rice in Thailand. In: DeWoody JA, Bickham JW, Michler CH, Nichols KM, Rhodes OE, Woeste KW (eds) Molecular approaches in natural resource conservation and management. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 35–49
Shugart LR, Theodorakis CW, Bickham JW (2010) Evolutionary toxicology. In: DeWoody JA, Bickham JW, Michler CH, Nichols KM, Rhodes OE, Woeste KW (eds) Molecular Approaches in Natural Resource Conservation and Management. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 320–362
Theodorakis CW, Bickham JW (2004) Molecular characterization of contaminant-indicative RAPD markers. Ecotoxicology 13:303–309
Theodorakis CW, Shugart LR (1997) Genetic ecotoxicology II: population genetic structure in radionuclide-contaminated mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). Ecotoxicology 6:335–354
Theodorakis CW, Shugart LR (1998) Genetic ecotoxicology III: the relationship between DNA strand breaks and genotype in mosquitofish exposed to radiation. Ecotoxicology 7:227–236
Theodorakis CW, Wirgin I (2002) Genetic responses as population-level biomarkers of stress in aquatic ecosystems. In: Adams SM (ed) Biological Indicators of Aquatic Ecosystem Health. American Fisheries Society, New York, pp 147−186
Theodorakis CW, Blaylock BG, Shugart LR (1996) Genetic ecotoxicology I.: DNA integrity and reproduction in mosquitofish exposed in situ to radionuclides. Ecotoxicology 5:1–14
Theodorakis CW, Bickham JW, Elbl T, Shugart LR, Chesser RK (1998) Genetics of radionuclide contaminated mosquitofish populations and homology between Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki. Environ Toxicol Chem 10:1992–1998
Theodorakis CW, Elbl T, Shugart LR (1999) Genetic ecotoxicology IV: survival and DNA strand breakage is dependent on genotype in radionuclide-exposed mosquitofish. Aquat Toxicol 45:279–291
Theodorakis CW, Bickham JW, Lamb T, Medica PA, Lyne TB (2001) Integration of genotoxicity and population genetic analyses in kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami) exposed to radionuclide contamination at the Nevada Test Site. Environ Toxicol Chem 20:317–326
van Straalen N, Timmermans M (2002) Genetic variation in toxicant-stressed populations: an evaluation of the “genetic erosion” hypothesis. Hum Ecol Risk Asses 8:983–1002
Yauk C, Polyzos A, Rowan-Carroll A, Somers CM et al (2008) Germ-line mutations, DNA damage, and global hypermethylation in mice exposed to particulate air pollution in an urban/industrial location. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:605–610
Acknowledgments
The ideas I present in this paper have been developed over the past 35 years which have been devoted to the study of the genetics, evolution, and ecotoxicology of wildlife. I thank the numerous students and research collaborators with whom I have had the honor of working, especially Robert Baker, Karen McBee, Mike Smolen, Barrett Lyne, Jeff Wickliffe, Cole Matson, Brian Rinner, Carol Swartz, Jim Rogers, Chris Theodorakis, Amy Baird, Chris Somers, the late KC Donnelly, Tom Custer, Miguel Mora, Theo Colborn, Tommy McDonald, and Lee Shugart. To all of you, and the many others who work in this field, I am forever in your debt for helping me to better understand Evolutionary Toxicology, incomplete though this understanding most certainly is. I hope I have presented your work fairly.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bickham, J.W. The four cornerstones of Evolutionary Toxicology. Ecotoxicology 20, 497–502 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0636-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0636-y