Gonadal differentiation and gene expression patterns in sentinel native fish populations: sensitive indicators of environmental pollutants in Alberta rivers and lakes

人们越来越关注具有类似生物活动的环境污染物对人类健康和野生动物产生的不利影响。环境持久性内分泌干扰化合物（EDC）模拟或阻断天然雌激素，雄激素和甲状腺激素的作用，并被怀疑通过破坏内分泌系统导致人类和野生动物的健康缺陷。直接接触内分泌干扰物可能是通过水，饮食，工业或家用产品。有必要评估内分泌干扰物对环境影响的风险，并开发有效和准确的方法来检测现有污水处理厂无法去除的环境污染物。阿尔伯塔环境和我们的实验室最近的研究提供了令人震惊的证据，不仅存在广泛的药物，内分泌干扰物，和其他有机污染物的废水处理厂的污水和接收河流的阿尔伯塔，而且还改变了发育和繁殖的鱼类在南部阿尔伯塔河流。我们的主要目标是

There is growing concern that environmental contaminants with hormone-like activity adversely influence human health and wildlife. Environmentally persistent endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) mimic or block the effects of natural estrogens, androgens, and thyroid hormones, and are suspected of causing health defects in both humans and wildlife through disruption of the endocrine system. Direct exposure to EDCs may be through water, diet, and industrial or household products. There is a need to evaluate the risk of environmental effects of EDCs and development of effective and accurate methods to detect environmental contaminants, which are not removed by existing sewage treatment plants. Recent studies by Alberta Environment and our laboratories have provided alarming evidence for not only the presence of a broad range of pharmaceuticals, EDCs, and other organic contaminants in wastewater treatment plant effluents and receiving rivers of Alberta, but also alteration of development and reproduction of fish in southern Alberta rivers. Our main objective is to