Collaborative research: Mechanisms of reproductive, developmental, and early life stage impacts of marine oil spills in a vertebrate sentinel model

海洋石油泄漏会向环境中释放大量的持久性有毒化学物质，许多大型活跃油田靠近高密度的沿海人口，在那里，人们可能会通过清理和补救工作，通过与受欢迎的度假地区的受油介质接触，以及通过食物链受到污染。尽管近年来在人口密集地区附近发生了许多大型石油泄漏事件，也有一些研究测试了对人类的急性和心理影响，但人们对石油泄漏对重要生物过程（如繁殖、发育、生长和性能）的中长期健康影响知之甚少。在这个项目中，来自加州大学戴维斯分校、路易斯安那州立大学农业中心、路易斯安那州立大学和a &amp； M学院的一个研究小组将探索深水地平线石油泄漏的生物影响，以研究这种影响。他们将使用海湾鳉鱼作为哨兵动物模型，因为它们提供了一个机会，通过它们相对较短的生命周期，提供良好的分子和生理工具包，它们在当地的住所和在现场对事件的充分记录，提供了一个仔细联系因果关系的机会，因为它们易于处理实验室和现场研究，为在现实世界中验证预测的影响提供了机会。鱼类是人类健康和发展的模型，而鳉鱼特别适合用于研究DWH石油泄漏的后果，特别是因为它们是直接受泄漏事件影响的墨西哥湾地区的大量本地非迁徙居民。研究小组已经有证据表明，鳉鱼受到了这次事件的影响。现在他们的目标是在脊椎动物生命周期的各个敏感阶段测试石油泄漏的影响，包括跨代的影响，表征泄漏风险的空间和时间范围，并测试个体和群体遗传变异对石油污染敏感性的影响。更广泛的影响：我们对中长期接触碳氢化合物对健康的影响的认识仍然明显不足。这项研究将深入了解石油泄漏对脊椎动物模型影响的风险和机制，提供预测或反映受损生物过程的生物标志物，并加速发现遗传和生理风险因素。该项目将支持博士生和本科生研究人员的培训。来自路易斯安那州立大学和加州大学戴维斯分校的博士生将参加环境项目，这是一个将研究生与当地高中的学生配对一学年的项目，在此期间，参与者将被指导完成一个独立的研究项目，该项目将作为科学海报在当地科学博览会上展示。路易斯安那州立大学的研究小组还将在海洋骚动（Ocean Commotion）上展示这些海报和其他总结的研究成果。海洋骚动是由路易斯安那州海洋拨款学院项目组织的年度活动，吸引了数千名当地的K-8学生。考虑到路易斯安那州的社会经济状况，多元化的小学和本科学生将参与这些拓展工作。此外，历史上在科学领域代表性不足的群体的本科研究参与将通过霍华德休斯医学研究所（LSU），路易斯安那州少数民族参与联盟（LSU）和阿吉大使计划（加州大学戴维斯分校）提供的项目得到支持。由NSF和NIEHS联合资助：该项目的原始提案（R01 ES021934-01）是根据资助机会公告RFA-ES-11-013，“海洋，大湖和人类健康（R01）”提交给国家环境健康科学研究所（NIH/NIEHS）的，这是一个由NSF联合赞助的机会。本项目由NSF和NIEHS分别合作资助。

Marine oil spills can release large volumes of persistently toxic chemicals into the environment, and many large active oil fields are in close proximity to high-density coastal human populations where humans can be exposed through clean-up and remediation efforts, through contact with oiled media in popular vacation areas, and through the food chain. Despite many large oil spills in recent years close to populated regions, and a few studies testing for acute and psychological impacts in humans, remarkably little is known of the medium and long-term health impacts of oil spills on important biological processes such as reproduction, development, growth, and performance. In this project, a research team from the University of California at Davis, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, and the Louisiana State University and A & M College will explore the biological impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to study such effects. They will use the Gulf killifish as a sentinel animal model because they offer an opportunity to carefully link cause with effect by virtue of their relatively short life cycle, a well-provisioned molecular and physiological toolkit, their local residence and well-documented exposure to the event in the field, and because they are tractable for laboratory and field studies providing an opportunity to verify predicted effects in the real world. Fish are established models for human health and development, and killifish are particularly appropriate for studying consequences of the DWH oil spill specifically because they are abundant, local, and non-migratory residents of Gulf of Mexico regions directly affected by the spill event. The team already has evidence that killifish were exposed and affected by the event. Now their objectives are to test for oil spill effects at various sensitive stages of the vertebrate life cycle including effects that span generations, to characterize the spatial and temporal extent of vertebrate risk from the spill, and to test for the influence of individual and population genetic variation on sensitivity to oil pollution. Broader Impacts: There remains a clear deficiency in our understanding of health effects from hydrocarbon exposures that emerge over the medium and long term. This research will offer insight into risk and mechanisms of oil spill impacts in a vertebrate model, offer biomarkers predictive or reflective of impaired biological processes, and accelerate the discovery of genetic and physiological risk factors. The project will support the training of PhD students and undergraduate researchers. PhD students from both LSU and UC-Davis will participate in EnvironMentors, a program that pairs graduate students with students from local high schools for an academic year, during which time participants are guided in the completion of an independent research project to be presented as a scientific poster at a local science fair. The LSU group will also present these posters and other summarized research results at Ocean Commotion, a yearly event organized by the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, which attract thousands of local K-8 students. Given the socio-economical landscape of Louisiana, a diverse elementary school and undergraduate student body will be engaged by these outreach efforts. Furthermore, undergraduate research participation of groups that are historically underrepresented in the sciences will be supported through programs offered by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (LSU), the Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LSU), and Aggie Ambassadors program (UC Davis). JOINT FUNDING BY NSF AND NIEHS: The original proposal on which this project is based (R01 ES021934-01) was submitted to the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH/NIEHS) in response to Funding Opportunity Announcement RFA-ES-11-013 , "Oceans, Great Lakes and Human Health (R01)", an opportunity jointly sponsored by NSF. This project is cooperatively funded through separate awards from NSF and NIEHS.