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© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Landrigan, P., Raps, H., Symeonides, C., Chiles, T., Cropper, M., Enck, J., Hahn, M., Hixson, R., Kumar, P., Mustapha, A., Park, Y., Spring, M., Stegeman, J., Thompson, R., Wang, Z., Wolff, M., Yousuf, A., & Dunlop, S. Announcing the Minderoo – Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health. Annals of Global Health, 88(1), (2022): 73, https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.3916., Plastic is the signature material of our age. In the 75 years since large-scale production began in the aftermath of World War II, plastic has transformed our world, supported many of the most significant advances of modern civilization, and enabled breakthroughs in virtually every field of human endeavor. But plastic also poses great and growing dangers to human health and the environment, harms that fall disproportionately on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. The extent and magnitude of these dangers are only beginning to be understood., The funding is from the Minderoo Foundation, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Brun, N. R., Salanga, M. C., Mora-Zamorano, F. X., Lamb, D. C., Goldstone, J. V., & Stegeman, J. J. Orphan cytochrome P450 20a1 CRISPR/Cas9 mutants and neurobehavioral phenotypes in zebrafish. Scientific Reports, 11(1), (2021): 23892, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03068-3., Orphan cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are those for which biological substrates and function(s) are unknown. Cytochrome P450 20A1 (CYP20A1) is the last human orphan P450 enzyme, and orthologs occur as single genes in every vertebrate genome sequenced to date. The occurrence of high levels of CYP20A1 transcripts in human substantia nigra and hippocampus and abundant maternal transcripts in zebrafish eggs strongly suggest roles both in the brain and during early embryonic development. Patients with chromosome 2 microdeletions including CYP20A1 show hyperactivity and bouts of anxiety, among other conditions. Here, we created zebrafish cyp20a1 mutants using CRISPR/Cas9, providing vertebrate models with which to study the role of CYP20A1 in behavior and other neurodevelopmental functions. The homozygous cyp20a1 null mutants exhibited significant behavioral differences from wild-type zebrafish, both in larval and adult animals. Larval cyp20a1-/- mutants exhibited a strong increase in light-simulated movement (i.e., light–dark assay), which was interpreted as hyperactivity. Further, the larvae exhibited mild hypoactivity during the adaptation period of the optomotor assays. Adult cyp20a1 null fish showed a pronounced delay in adapting to new environments, which is consistent with an anxiety paradigm. Taken together with our earlier morpholino cyp20a1 knockdown results, the results described herein suggest that the orphan CYP20A1 has a neurophysiological role., These studies were supported in part by the Boston University Superfund Research Program NIH 5P42ES007381 (MCS, NRB, FXM, JVG, JJS), the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health (NIH: P01ES021923 and P01ES028938; NSF: OCE-1314642 and OCE-1840381; NRB and JJS), and EBI/EMBL Medakatox NIEHS R01ES029917 (JVG). DCL was funded by a UK-US Fulbright Scholarship.

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Eide, M., Zhang, X., Karlsen, O. A., Goldstone, J., Stegeman, J., Jonassen, I., & Goksoyr, A. The chemical defensome of five model teleost fish. Scientific Reports, 11(1), (2021): 10546, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89948-0., How an organism copes with chemicals is largely determined by the genes and proteins that collectively function to defend against, detoxify and eliminate chemical stressors. This integrative network includes receptors and transcription factors, biotransformation enzymes, transporters, antioxidants, and metal- and heat-responsive genes, and is collectively known as the chemical defensome. Teleost fish is the largest group of vertebrate species and can provide valuable insights into the evolution and functional diversity of defensome genes. We have previously shown that the xenosensing pregnane x receptor (pxr, nr1i2) is lost in many teleost species, including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), but it is not known if compensatory mechanisms or signaling pathways have evolved in its absence. In this study, we compared the genes comprising the chemical defensome of five fish species that span the teleosteii evolutionary branch often used as model species in toxicological studies and environmental monitoring programs: zebrafish (Danio rerio), medaka (Oryzias latipes), Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus), Atlantic cod, and three-spined stickleback. Genome mining revealed evolved differences in the number and composition of defensome genes that can have implication for how these species sense and respond to environmental pollutants, but we did not observe any candidates of compensatory mechanisms or pathways in cod and stickleback in the absence of pxr. The results indicate that knowledge regarding the diversity and function of the defensome will be important for toxicological testing and risk assessment studies., The work was supported by the Norwegian Research Council as part of the iCOD and iCOD 2.0 projects (Grant Nos. 192441/I30 and 244654/E40), and the dCod 1.0 project (Grant No. 248840) which is part of Centre for Digital Life Norway. The American collaborators were funded by the National Institute of Health (USA) NIH P42ES007381 (Boston University Superfund Center to JJS and JVG), NIH R21HD073805 (JVG) and NHI R01ES029917 (JVG) grants. The Ocean Outlook exchange program funded the trans-Atlantic collaboration.

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Celander, M. C., Goldstone, J. V., Brun, N. R., Clark, B., Jayaraman, S., Nacci, D., & Stegeman, J. J. Resistance to Cyp3a induction by polychlorinated biphenyls, including non-dioxin-like PCB153, in gills of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from New Bedford Harbor. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 83, (2021): 103580. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2020.103580., Previous reports suggested that non-dioxin-like (NDL) PCB153 effects on cytochrome P450 3A (Cyp3a) expression in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) gills differed between F0 generation fish from a PCB site (New Bedford Harbor; NBH) and a reference site (Scorton Creek; SC). Here, we examined effects of PCB153, dioxin-like (DL) PCB126, or a mixture of both, on Cyp3a56 mRNA in killifish generations removed from the wild, without environmental PCB exposures. PCB126 effects in liver and gills differed between populations, as expected. Gill Cyp3a56 was not affected by either congener in NBH F2 generation fish, but was induced by PCB153 in SC F1 fish, with females showing a greater response. PCB153 did not affect Cyp3a56 in liver of either population. Results suggest a heritable resistance to NDL-PCBs in killifish from NBH, in addition to that reported for DL PCBs. Induction of Cyp3a56 in gills may be a biomarker of exposure to NDL PCBs in fish populations that are not resistant to PCBs., This study was supported by the sabbatical program from the Faculty of Science at the University of Gothenburg (MC), and by the Swiss National Science Foundation P2EZP2-165200 (NRB). The study was supported in part by the Superfund Hazardous Substances Research Program at Boston University NIH P42ES007381 (JVG, JJS). This research was also funded partly by the US Environmental Protection Agency (SJ, DN), including an appointment (BC) with the Postdoctoral Research Program at the US Environmental Protection (US-EPA) Office of Research and Development administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), through Interagency Agreement No. DW92429801 between the US Department of Energy and the US-EPA. The contents do not reflect the views of the US-EPA, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the US-EPA. We thank Rene Francolini at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions for excellent technical assistance and Dr. Sibel Karchner and Dr. Mark Hahn at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions for valuable discussions and comments on the manuscript.

Background: Pollution – unwanted waste released to air, water, and land by human activity – is the largest environmental cause of disease in the world today. It is responsible for an estimated nine million premature deaths per year, enormous economic losses, erosion of human capital, and degradation of ecosystems. Ocean pollution is an important, but insufficiently recognized and inadequately controlled component of global pollution. It poses serious threats to human health and well-being. The nature and magnitude of these impacts are only beginning to be understood. Goals: (1) Broadly examine the known and potential impacts of ocean pollution on human health. (2) Inform policy makers, government leaders, international organizations, civil society, and the global public of these threats. (3) Propose priorities for interventions to control and prevent pollution of the seas and safeguard human health. Methods: Topic-focused reviews that examine the effects of ocean pollution on human health, identify gaps in knowledge, project future trends, and offer evidence-based guidance for effective intervention. Environmental Findings: Pollution of the oceans is widespread, worsening, and in most countries poorly controlled. It is a complex mixture of toxic metals, plastics, manufactured chemicals, petroleum, urban and industrial wastes, pesticides, fertilizers, pharmaceutical chemicals, agricultural runoff, and sewage. More than 80% arises from land-based sources. It reaches the oceans through rivers, runoff, atmospheric deposition and direct discharges. It is often heaviest near the coasts and most highly concentrated along the coasts of low- and middle-income countries. Plastic is a rapidly increasing and highly visible component of ocean pollution, and an estimated 10 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the seas each year. Mercury is the metal pollutant of greatest concern in the oceans; it is released from two main sources – coal combustion and small-scale gold mini