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Barst BD, Wooller MJ, O’Brien DM, Santa-Rios A, Basu N, Köck G, Johnson JJ, Muir DC. Dried Blood Spot Sampling of Landlocked Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) for Estimating Mercury Exposure and Stable Carbon Isotope Fingerprinting of Essential Amino Acids. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020; 39:893-903. [PMID: 32045959 PMCID: PMC7748106 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Dried blood spots (DBS), created by applying and drying a whole blood sample onto filter paper, provide a simple and minimally invasive procedure for collecting, transporting, and storing blood. Because DBS are ideal for use in field and resource-limited settings, we aimed to develop a simple and accurate DBS-based approach for assessing mercury (Hg) exposure and dietary carbon sources for landlocked Arctic char, a sentinel fish species in the Arctic. We collected liquid whole blood (from the caudal vein), muscle, liver, and brains of Arctic char (n = 36) from 8 lakes spanning a Hg gradient in the Canadian High Arctic. We measured total Hg concentrations ([THg]) of field-prepared DBS and Arctic char tissues. Across a considerable range, [THg] of DBS (0.04-3.38 μg/g wet wt) were highly correlated with [THg] of all tissues (r2 range = 0.928-0.996). We also analyzed the compound-specific carbon isotope ratios (expressed as δ13 C values) of essential amino acids (EAAs) isolated from DBS, liquid whole blood, and muscle. The δ13 C values of 5 EAAs (δ13 CEAAs ; isoleucine [Ile], leucine [Leu], phenylalanine [Phe], valine [Val], and threonine [Thr]) from DBS were highly correlated with δ13 CEAAs of liquid whole blood (r2 range = 0.693-0.895) and muscle (r2 range = 0.642-0.881). The patterns of δ13 CEAAs of landlocked Arctic char were remarkably consistent across sample types and indicate that EAAs are most likely of algal origin. Because a small volume of blood (~50 µL) dried on filter paper can be used to determine Hg exposure levels of various tissues and to fingerprint carbon sources, DBS sampling may decrease the burdens of research and may be developed as a nonlethal sampling technique. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:893-903. © 2020 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin D. Barst
- Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - Matthew J. Wooller
- Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
- College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - Diane M. O’Brien
- Biology and Wildlife Department, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
- Center for Alaska Native Health Research, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - Andrea Santa-Rios
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Niladri Basu
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Günter Köck
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research (ÖAW-IGF), 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Jessica J. Johnson
- Biology and Wildlife Department, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
| | - Derek C.G. Muir
- Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
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