A1 Journal article (refereed)
The effect of experimental lead pollution on DNA methylation in a wild bird population (2022)

Mäkinen, H., van Oers, K., Eeva, T., & Ruuskanen, S. (2022). The effect of experimental lead pollution on DNA methylation in a wild bird population. Epigenetics, 17(6), 625-641. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2021.1943863

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Mäkinen, Hannu; van Oers, Kees; Eeva, Tapio; Ruuskanen, Suvi

Journal or series: Epigenetics

ISSN: 1559-2294

eISSN: 1559-2308

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 09/08/2021

Volume: 17

Issue number: 6

Pages range: 625-641

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2021.1943863

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/84379

Web address of parallel published publication (pre-print): https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/851998v2.full

Abstract

Anthropogenic pollution is known to negatively influence an organism’s physiology, behaviour, and fitness. Epigenetic regulation, such as DNA methylation, has been hypothesized as a potential mechanism to mediate such effects, yet studies in wild species are lacking. We first investigated the effects of early-life exposure to the heavy metal lead (Pb) on DNA methylation levels in a wild population of great tits (Parus major), by experimentally exposing nestlings to Pb at environmentally relevant levels. Secondly, we compared nestling DNA methylation from a population exposed to long-term heavy metal pollution (close to a copper smelter), where birds suffer from pollution-related decrease in food quality, and a control population. For both comparisons, the analysis of about one million CpGs covering most of the annotated genes revealed that pollution-related changes in DNA methylation were not genome wide, but enriched for genes underlying developmental processes. However, the results were not consistent when using binomial or beta binomial regression highlighting the difficulty of modelling variance in CpGs. Our study indicates that post-natal anthropogenic heavy metal exposure can affect methylation levels of development related genes in a wild bird population.

Keywords: ecotoxicology; pollution; environmental toxins; heavy metals; lead; great tit; epigenetics; DNA methylation

Free keywords: Pb; parus major; pollution; environmental epigenetics; ecological epigenetics; ecotoxicology

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2022

JUFO rating: 1