Exposure to acute levels of waterborne aluminium modifies the legacy of early life stage irradiation, including the communication of radiation-induced bystander signals, in adult rainbow trout

Abstract

Purpose: To determine if the legacy of early life stage irradiation seen in rainbow trout is modified in adult fish by acute exposure to waterborne aluminium (Al).

Methods: Two-year-old trout which had been irradiated as either eggs 48 h after fertilization, eyed eggs, yolk sac larvae or as first feeders, were exposed to 100 or 200 μg l⁻¹ Al. These fish were then paired with untreated fish. Gill and skin samples from both the irradiated and Al-exposed, and the untreated bystander fish, were then assayed for the production of toxic or pro-death signals, using the HPV-G reporter cell line.

Results: Depending on the life stage, irradiated and the tissue assayed acute Al exposure modified both the radiation legacy, and the radiation-induced bystander effect in untreated fish, either by reducing reporter cell survival or increasing reporter cell growth.

Conclusions: The effects of early irradiation and adult Al exposure were complex but clearly demonstrated that both the direct radiation effects and the communication of a radiation-induced bystander effect can be modified by a second environmental stressor.

Keywords:

• Adaptive response
• biological response modifiers
• environmental effects
• fish (aquatic)
• radioecology

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Industrial Chairs Research Programme, Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) Owners Group, Bruce Power, The Canada Chairs Programme. We also acknowledge our participation as non-funded third country partners in the European Union’s Non-Targeted Effects integrated project (NOTE). Finally we would like to express our grateful thanks to Michael Burke, David Bevan, Michael Kirk and Neil MacBeth, Alma Aquaculture Research Station, University of Guelph, for the rearing and husbandry of all the fish used in this investigation.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.