Sources and Sinks of Halogenated Organic Compounds in the Marine Environment

大量证据表明，多溴联苯醚和多溴吡咯在海洋食物链中具有生物累积性，而且这些化合物是生物来源的。虽然人们刚刚开始了解卤代有机化合物对人类和环境的有害影响，但它们与人为污染物的结构相似性表明，它们是一组新出现的、特征不明确的海洋毒素。项目1的总体目标是查明南加州湾多溴二苯醚和多溴联苯醚的生物来源。这一目标将通过一个全面的采样模式来实现，采样对象是散装和大小分级的浮游生物、沉积物、底栖藻类和滤食性无脊椎动物。采样工作将利用SIO提供的小船和船上资源，以及浮游生物专家梅丽莎·卡特（SIO）和J·克雷格文特尔研究所的合作者提供的专业知识（见L. Zeigler）。项目1的活动将与项目3和分析核心紧密结合，后者将确定和量化所收集样本中的多溴二苯醚和多溴联苯。这些信息将用于将特定化合物与样本类型联系起来，并指导后续的微生物培养工作和与培养无关的多样性研究。项目2产生的宏基因组数据将提供微生物群落组成的免费分析，并深入了解与HOC生产相关的生物合成基因。这些信息将用于定量PCR和CARD-FISH研究，旨在评估不同样本类型中HOC产生细菌和相关生物合成基因的数量和位置。项目3根据与参考数据的比较无法识别的HOCs将被分离、结构表征，并提供给项目3进行毒理学评价和作为GC-MS标准品。将对先前从环境样本中确定的若干多溴联苯进行合成，以提供基线毒理学数据和GC-MS标准。一个主要的努力将放在HOC生产细菌的培养，因为有相当多的初步证据表明，他们代表了这些化合物的重要生物来源。这项研究代表了在美国主要沿海环境中确定越来越重要的海洋污染物的生物源和汇的第一次重大努力。

There is overwhelming evidence that polybrominated diphenyl-ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominate pyrroles (PBPs) are bioaccumulating in the marine food chain and that these compounds are of biological origin. While the harmful effects of halogenated organic compounds (HOCs) on humans and the environment are only beginning to be understood, their structural similarities to anthropogenic pollutants suggest they represent an emerging and poorly characterized group of marine toxins. The overall goal of Project 1 is to identify the biological sources of PBDEs and PBPs in the Southern California Bight. This goal will be accomplished through a comprehensive sampling paradigm targeting bulk and size-fractionated plankton, sediments, benthic algae, and filter feeding invertebrates. Sampling efforts will capitalize on small boat and shipboard resources available through SIO and expertise provided by plankton expert Melissa Carter (SIO) and collaborators at the J. Craig Venter Institute (see letter of support from L. Zeigler). Project 1 activities will be tightly integrated with Project 3 and the Analytical Core, which will identify and quantify PBDEs and PBPs in the samples collected. This information will be used to link specific compounds with sample types and to guide subsequent microbial cultivation efforts and cultivation-independent diversity studies. Metagenomic data generated from Project 2 will, provide a complimentary analysis of microbial community composition and insight into the biosynthetic genes associated with HOC production. This information will be used in quantitative PCR and CARD-FISH studies designed to assess the numbers and location of HOC-producing bacteria and relevant biosynthetic genes in different sample types. HOCs that cannot be identified by Project 3 based on comparisons with reference data will be isolated, structurally characterized, and provided to Project 3 for toxicological evaluation and as GC-MS standards. Select PBPs previously identified from environmental samples will be synthesized to provide baseline toxicological data and GC-MS standards. A major effort will be placed on the cultivation of HOC-producing bacteria, as there is considerable preliminary evidence that they represent an important biological source of these compounds. This research represents the first major effort to identify the biological sources and sinks of an increasingly important group of marine pollutants in a major US coastal environment.