MOLECULAR GENETIC BIOREPORTING OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS

有毒物质存在的环境生物报告的新方法 废物和环境污染是迫切需要的。爆炸式的 分子生物学、遗传学和生物技术方面的知识提供了 开发新的环境生物报告的无与伦比的机会 技巧。在这项建议中，群体遗传学方法，使用随机扩增多态性DNA- 聚合酶链式反应技术，将被开发来研究遗传结构 阿肯色河精选水生节肢动物生物报告物种- 加州峡谷超级基金网站，那里的水质非常差 由于过去采矿和冶金造成的重金属污染 行动。这一方法将使识别障碍成为可能 在生物报告物种中的基因流动，这可能直接归因于 环境污染。分子遗传学方法，包括 差异显示-聚合酶链式反应，将用于识别特定的金属 决定植物对重金属耐受性的反应基因(生物标记物) 生物报告物种。金属反应基因将被克隆，调控 识别、表征的序列，这些信息用于开发 重金属污染的分子遗传生物标志物。这两个 方法，群体遗传学和分子遗传学，将提供 人口和个人的环境生物报告能力 水平。由于选定的生物报告物种花费它们的生命周期和 确实是世代在遗址中被研究、分析的自然 暴露的生物记者群体可能会提供一种电流以及 环境污染的历史记录。 这些用于环境生物报告的现代分子方法将是 广泛适用于评估交替地点的重金属污染和 评估生物报告物种对替代类型的遗传反应 污染。

Novel approaches for environmental bioreporting of the presence of toxic wastes and environmental pollution are sorely needed. The explosion of knowledge in molecular biology, genetics, and biotechnology provides an unparalleled opportunity to develop new environmental bioreporting techniques. In this proposal, population genetic approaches, using RAPD- PCR technologies, will be developed to investigate the genetic structure of selected aquatic arthropod bioreporter species in the Arkansas River - California Gulch Superfund Site, where the water quality is extremely poor due to heavy metal contamination from past mining and metallurgical operations. This approach will permit identification of impediments to gene flow in the bioreporter species, which may be directly attributable to environmental pollution. Molecular genetic approaches, including differential display - PCR, will be used to identify specific metal responsive genes (biomarkers) which determine tolerance to heavy metals in the bioreporter species. Metal responsive genes will be cloned, regulatory sequences identified, characterized, and this information used to develop molecular genetic biomarkers of heavy metal pollution. These two approaches, population genetic and molecular genetic, will provide environmental bioreporting capability at the population and individual level. Since the selected bioreporter species spend their life cycles and indeed generations in the sites to be studies, analysis of the naturally exposed populations of bioreporters may provide a current as well as historical record of environmental contamination. These modern molecular approaches for environmental bioreporting will be widely applicable to assess heavy metal pollution at alternate sites and to assess bioreporter species genetic responses to alternate types of pollution.