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Form of Dietary Methylmercury does not Affect Total Mercury Accumulation in the Tissues of Zebra Finch

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Abstract

Exposure to mercury in humans, other mammals, and birds is primarily dietary, with mercury in the methylated form and bound to cysteine in the tissues of prey items. Yet dosing studies are generally carried out using methylmercury chloride. Here we tested whether the accumulation of total mercury in zebra finch blood, egg, muscle, liver, kidney or brain differed depending on whether dietary mercury was complexed with chloride or cysteine. We found no effect of form of mercury on tissue accumulation. Some previous studies have found lower accumulation of mercury in tissues of animals fed complexed mercury. Much remains to be understood about what happens to ingested mercury once it enters the intestines, but our results suggest that dietary studies using methylmercury chloride in birds will produce similar tissue accumulation levels to those using methylmercury cysteine.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company and research was completed with oversight from the South River Science Team, a collaboration of state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and environmental interests. The College of William and Mary provided additional funds. Thank you to IIBBS lab students for their assistance with data collection, particularly Amanda Bessler, Sarah Maddux, and Catherine Lewis.

Funding

This study was funded by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Claire W. Varian-Ramos

    Present address: Biology Department, Colorado State University – Pueblo, 2200 Bonforte Blvd., Pueblo, CO, 81011, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Integrative Bird Behavior Studies, Biology Department, College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA, 23187, USA

    Claire W. Varian-Ramos, Margaret Whitney & Daniel A. Cristol

  2. Chemistry Department, College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA, 23187, USA

    Gary W. Rice

Authors
  1. Claire W. Varian-Ramos
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  2. Margaret Whitney
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  3. Gary W. Rice
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  4. Daniel A. Cristol
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claire W. Varian-Ramos.

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Conflict of interest

DA Cristol received research funding from E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.

Ethical Approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures and protocols were approved and overseen by The College of William and Mary’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC 2012-05-23-7982).

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Varian-Ramos, C.W., Whitney, M., Rice, G.W. et al. Form of Dietary Methylmercury does not Affect Total Mercury Accumulation in the Tissues of Zebra Finch. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 99, 1–8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2104-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2104-8

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