Integrated spatial health assessment of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations from the St. Lawrence River (QC, Canada), part B: cellular and transcriptomic effects.
Multi-biological level assessments have become great tools to evaluate the health of aquatic ecosystems. Using this approach, a complementary study was designed to evaluate the health of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations in the St. Lawrence River (Quebec, Canada). In the present study, stress responses were compared at the transcriptomic, cellular, and tissue levels in yellow perch collected at six sites along the river: Lake St. François, Lake St. Louis (north and south), Beauregard Island and Lake St. Pierre (north and south). These results complement the physiological and chemical parameters as well as pathogen infection investigated in a companion paper published in the present issue. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) analyses indicated the presence of oxidative stress in fish collected in the southern part of Lake St. Louis and at the downstream sites of Lake St. Pierre. High lipid peroxidation levels were found in the muscle of yellow perch caught at Beauregard Island, located downstream of the Montreal's wastewater treatment plant, suggesting an impact of the municipal effluent on redox homeostasis. Transcriptomic results indicated the down-regulation of genes related to lipid, glucose, and retinoid in southern Lake St. Pierre as well as a decrease in retinoid storage. Overall, biochemical and molecular markers indicated that the health status of yellow perch followed a decreasing gradient from upstream to downstream of the St. Lawrence River. This gradient is representative of the cumulative negative impacts of human activities on water and habitat quality along the river.
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Water Science and Technology Directorate, 105 McGill street, Montreal, QC, H2Y 2E7, Canada.
Audrey
A
Bruneau
Centre de recherche en toxicologie de l'environnement (TOXEN), Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada.
Catherine
C
Landry
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Water Science and Technology Directorate, 105 McGill street, Montreal, QC, H2Y 2E7, Canada. maeva.giraudo@gmail.com.
Maeva
M
Giraudo
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Water Science and Technology Directorate, 105 McGill street, Montreal, QC, H2Y 2E7, Canada.
Mélanie
M
Douville
Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Direction de la gestion de la faune de la Mauricie et du Centre-du-Québec, 100, rue Laviolette, bureau 207, Trois-Rivières, QC, G9A 5S9, Canada.
Philippe
P
Brodeur
Centre de recherche en toxicologie de l'environnement (TOXEN), Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada.
Monique
M
Boily
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Water Science and Technology Directorate, 105 McGill street, Montreal, QC, H2Y 2E7, Canada.
Pierre
P
Gagnon
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Water Science and Technology Directorate, 105 McGill street, Montreal, QC, H2Y 2E7, Canada.
Magali
M
Houde
D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D015536:Down-Regulation; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D060106:Lakes; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010471:Perches; D011792:Quebec; D045483:Rivers; D059467:Transcriptome; D062065:Wastewater
D062065:Wastewater
Biochemical markers; Gene transcription; Oxidative stress; Retinol; St. Lawrence River; Yellow perch