Development of molecular tools for environmental assessments for selenium

煤炭开采是不列颠哥伦比亚省的一个大产业;例如，2011年该产业为该省GDP贡献了32亿加元。 2012年加拿大的煤炭产量为6700万吨，其中2900万吨为冶金煤，几乎全部出口到亚洲用于炼钢。 因此，越来越需要改进对煤炭和金属采矿业对环境影响的评估，而侧重于整合来自生物组织多个层面的数据的研究可以更全面地了解生物体的潜在不利影响。硒是一种非金属化学元素，存在于金属硫化物矿石中。它通常是在煤矿开采活动中作为副产品产生的，并已被证明对水生生物具有不利的毒理学影响，包括引起压力和损害鱼类的正常发育。此外，硒已被证明会影响水生生物的代谢，并可能导致生长受损和脂肪储存中断。因此，政府监管机构和行业寻求水生食物链中硒摄入量的数据以及生物体亚慢性毒性的数据，以更好地监测生态系统健康并改善采矿实践。

Coal extraction is a large industry in British Columbia; for example, this industry contributed $3.2 billion to provincial GDP in 2011. Coal production in Canada was 67 million tonnes in 2012, of which 29 million tonnes was metallurgical coal, and this was almost all exported to Asia for use in making steel. As such, there is an increasing need to improve assessments of the impacts of the coal and metal mining industry on the environment and research that is focused on integrating data from multiple levels of biological organization can achieve a more holistic view of potential adverse effects in organisms. Selenium is a non-metal chemical element that is found in metal sulfide ores. It is often produced as a bi-product during coal mining activities and has been shown to have adverse toxicological effects in aquatic organisms that include inducing stress and impairing normal development in fish species. Moreover, Se has been shown to affect metabolism in aquatic organisms, and can lead to impaired growth and disruption in fat storage. Therefore, governmental regulators and industry seek data on the uptake of Se in aquatic food chains as well as data on sub-chronic toxicity in organisms to better monitor ecosystem health and to improve mining practices.