title: Widespread episodic thiamine deficiency in Northern Hemisphere wildlife.
abstract: Many wildlife populations are declining at rates higher than can be explained by known threats to biodiversity. Recently, thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency has emerged as a possible contributing cause. Here, thiamine status was systematically investigated in three animal classes: bivalves, ray-finned fishes, and birds. Thiamine diphosphate is required as a cofactor in at least five life-sustaining enzymes that are required for basic cellular metabolism. Analysis of different phosphorylated forms of thiamine, as well as of activities and amount of holoenzyme and apoenzyme forms of thiamine-dependent enzymes, revealed episodically occurring thiamine deficiency in all three animal classes. These biochemical effects were also linked to secondary effects on growth, condition, liver size, blood chemistry and composition, histopathology, swimming behaviour and endurance, parasite infestation, and reproduction. It is unlikely that the thiamine deficiency is caused by impaired phosphorylation within the cells. Rather, the results point towards insufficient amounts of thiamine in the food. By investigating a large geographic area, by extending the focus from lethal to sublethal thiamine deficiency, and by linking biochemical alterations to secondary effects, we demonstrate that the problem of thiamine deficiency is considerably more widespread and severe than previously reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Balk
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Per-Åke
authors.initials: PÅ
authors.lastname: Hägerroth
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gustavsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sigg
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Åkerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, University of Vigo, Lagoas-Marcosende, ES-36310 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ruiz Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Leetown Science Center, Northern Appalachian Research Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Wellsboro, Pennsylvania 16901, USA.
authors.forename: Dale C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Honeyfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tjärnlund
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02747, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ström
authors.affiliation: Leetown Science Center, Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Turners Falls, Massachusetts 01376, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.affiliation: River Ecology and Management, Karlstad University, SE-65188 Karlstad, Sweden.|Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Freshwater Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE-17893 Drottningholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.|Department of Medicine Solna and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-17176 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ström
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.|Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, NL-3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mathijs
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Manen
authors.affiliation: Medical Products Agency, Box 26, SE-75103 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna-Lena
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: The University of Iceland's Research Centre in Suðurnes, IS-245 Sandgerði, Iceland.
authors.forename: Halldór P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Halldórsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Freshwater Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE-17893 Drottningholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jennie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strömquist
authors.affiliation: NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA.
authors.forename: Tracy K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Collier
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Resources, Fisheries Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Brobacken, SE-81494 Älvkarleby, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Börjeson
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control and Epidemiology, National Veterinary Institute (SVA), SE-75189 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mörner
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hansson
mesh_terms: D000811:Anguilla / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000378:metabolism; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D049878:Mytilus / Q000378:metabolism; D012474:Salmon / Q000378:metabolism; D012860:Skates, Fish / Q000378:metabolism*; D013832:Thiamine Deficiency